The Darkness Grows From Within
by V-Vendetta
Summary: What happens if Naruto's dream to be Hokage are crushed on the night he stole the Forbidden Scroll. What if he decided to embrace his inner demon? What if after saving Sakura, a romance began to bloom? What if Sakura wants to get revenge on everyone who made fun of her growing up and on her abusive mother? Find out! Dark Naruto x Sakura! M for lemons, gore and violence scenes.
1. A demon is born

I have gotten a request to write a Dark Naruto/Sakura story, and I hope that you all like it. I don't know how well it will turn out, but I'm sure going to try! No flames. I own nothing of Naruto. Anything Naruto related belongs to Kishimoto.

-V

* * *

"Naruto Uzumaki, you failed. Again." Came the disappointed reply from Iruka, as he gazed upon the 'deadlast' of his ninja class. The student in question gazed up at his instructor with cerulean blue eyes as he nodded, silent as a small hand reached up to scratch whiskered cheeks. "I'm sorry Naruto. There's just something wrong with your clone jutsu technique. Maybe you can try again next year.." He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence as Naruto walked out of the room without a word.

A pair of green eyes gazed over at the 'deadlast', a snobby grin on her face. "Oh look, he failed again. Poor Naruto!" The sarcasm was thick within her face, before she turned to her crush, Sasuke Uchiha, "Too bad he's not like you, Sasuke-kun" Sakura Haruno let out a dreamy sigh, as did most of Sasuke's fanclub. Naruto ignored her, going to take his seat before he was almost tripped by a sandalled foot, while a bark filled the air.

"Watch where you're going, Uzumaki. No wonder you're not a ninja like us, you can't even pay attention to your surroundings can you?" Kiba Inuzuka taunted, his dog Akamaru barking in agreement. Naruto's eyes were cast downward, his fists clenched as he tried to hold his temper. "Aw, is the little orphan going to cry?" Kiba smirked, knowing that the low blow would hurt Naruto. He was an orphan, and often glared at by many of the villagers due to something that happened twelve years ago. No one but the past generation and the Third Hokage knew what had happened. "Why don't you just give up? You're pathetic, deadlast." Kiba said, before laughing.

Naruto turned slightly, slamming his fist into the small boys face and stopping his laughter. Akamaru growled and leaped towards Naruto only to be grabbed by the collar. Naruto glared at the dog coldly, before throwing him at Kiba. "Shut up. I don't deserve this bullshit, and hopefully you'll think before disrespecting your future Hokage." His emotional mask back in place, Naruto walked up to the top row and sat down. The whole class was silent but decided not to press anything further with the whiskered blonde boy.

Iruka began to drone on and on about how they were taking their first step into becoming ninja, and how they would be joining their teams tomorrow. Naruto, bored and out of options and seeing no reason to stay, opened the window silently as he jumped out. Landing on the ground, he went to the library to try to figure out why he couldn't preform a simple clone jutsu. He entered, and went to work. Researching multiple books he couldn't find anything to help his predicament. He released a sigh, before a certain book caught his eye. '_Elemental affinities and combinations.' _He picked up the book as he sat down at table, his eyes skimming over the pages. No elemental affinity interested him, except for fire, wind, and metal. He studied what needed to be done to perfect the affinities, should the ninja be able to use it. His brain soaked up the information like a sponge, as he began reading more and more, staying there for several hours until the librarian kicked him out. He got to keep the book though.

He landed on the ground and began running, ignoring the looks and whispers of hate from the other villagers. He ran towards his small rundown home, and didn't stop until he arrived. He entered as he went to his old dirty mattress, laying down on it as he began to sob. How could he ever become the Hokage of Konoha if he couldn't even pass his ninja test? He soon fell into a tear induced sleep, his cheeks stained with the tears of his disappointment.

* * *

Mizuki saw Naruto leave and said nothing. A plan began to formulate within his mind, a sinister plan. One that could get the brat killed and out of his hair, and one that would make him fall into good graces with his master. He turned, pretending to cough as a dark smile crossed his face. That night, he would let his plan go into action, and it was sure to work.

A few hours later, Mizuki knocked on the door of Naruto Uzumaki, waiting patiently. Soon the door opened as Mizuki flashed a smile, "Hey Naruto. I know you failed your test, but however, there is something you can do to make it up! Would you like to hear?" _'Hook, line and sinker.' _Seeing the boy nod, Mizuki continued, "Alright, you have to use your stealth skills and everything you learned at the academy to go into the Hokage's office, and get the biggest scroll you can find. If you do that, meet me in the Forbidden Forest, and I shall instruct you from there. You ready?"

"Hell yes! Naruto Uzumaki is back on the track to be the best Hokage ever!" Naruto jumped around excitedly, before he rushed off into the night, heading towards the Hokage's office. Mizuki chuckled, as he shook his head. '_Poor boy. Too bad he'll die by the end of tonight. So much for him being Hokage.'_

Naruto climbed the side of Hokage's office, taking note of the several sleeping chunin below. He gulped as he continued to climb, eventually reaching the balcony of the Hokage's tower. He climbed up, opening the door as silently as he could, taking a look around in the dark office. He spotted a giant scroll labeled "_Forbidden Scroll" _behind a locked door. He rose an eyebrow, wondering if that's what Mizuki meant. Surely it was. But how to get it? Spotting a key on the desk, he walked over to it. "This is way too easy." He muttered.

"Naruto?" Came the tired reply of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third and current Hokage. "What are you doing here?" Naruto turned quickly around, as he grabbed the key. "Naruto?" Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, as he wondered what the boy was up to. "Don't do anything rash."

"Sorry jiji." Naruto whispered, as he disappeared into a puff of smoke. "Sexy technique." A feminine voice said, offering a wink as smoke covered up her bust and crotch. The Third Hokage, a very strong willed ninja was also a pervert and stood no chance against this attack. He flew back into the wall, blood trickling out of his nose as he fell into unconsciousness. The young boy opened the door to the scroll as he grabbed it. He took one last look at the Hokage, before sneaking out the way he came, heading towards the Forbidden Forest.

* * *

Mizuki felt slightly redundant as he knocked upon Iruka's door, dawning a panicked expression as he answered the door. "Iruka, it's Naruto! He stole the Forbidden Scroll. The Third Hokage has ordered every able bodied ninja to form a search party. Get dressed and meet up at the Hokage's tower!" Iruka was immediately awake, dressed and ready to go as Mizuki and he traveled to the Hokage's tower.

Naruto opened the scroll, his eyes gazing over the various technique's. He spotted several that caught his interest. Kage Bunshin No Jutsu. He cracked his neck slightly, as he got up and stretched. "Alright, let's get to work."

_An hour and a half later_

Iruka dropped down into the middle of the Forbidden Forest, hearing several plumes of smoke disappear. He walked forward to see Naruto sitting down and panting, his shirt off as sweat covered his body. The Forbidden Scroll lay beside him rolled up and closed. Naruto looked up, a triumphant smirk on his face. "Naruto! What do you think you're doing!?" Iruka asked, eyes narrowed.

"I was getting extra credit. Mizuki said that if I got the scroll and met him here that I could pass my ninja test. And look, I can create clones!" Naruto got up, as his index and middle finger formed a T with both hands, as he cried out, "Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" Several clones filled the area, as one walked over to Iruka.

Iruka's eyes widened as he reached out and touched it. "They're solid. They aren't just flimsy clones like the technique taught at the academy. I'm impressed. however, whatever Mizuki said isn't true. We have to get the scroll back to the Hokage." His ears picked up on the sound of metal flying through the air, as several clones disappeared. Iruka turned to see Mizuki standing on top of a tree branch, a giant demon wind shuriken in his hand. He unfolded it, as he chuckled. "Mizuki, what are you doing?!" Iruka called.

"I'm getting rid of Konoha's problem!" He replied as he threw the weapon, watching as it sailed towards Naruto. The blonde stood frozen in fear, unable to move. Iruka rushed to him, taking the shuriken in the back as he slumped to the his knees. He coughed up blood while Mizuki narrowed his eyes. "You're willing to defend the demon? Very well! You'll die as well!" He prepared another shuriken, twirling it in the air. "Do you wish to know why the villagers hate you, Naruto?"

"Mizuki no! You know it's forbidden!" Iruka cried out, before groaning out in pain.

"Oh please, you think Naruto hasn't done enough forbidden things tonight? Surely hearing one more thing won't kill him. Or who knows, it might." He gave a chuckle, as he gazed at Naruto with hatred, who was staring up at him. "Twelve years ago to this very day, the most powerful of the Nine Tailed Demons attacked Konoha. The Fourth Hokage, seeking no other option, gave up his life to kill the demon. However, a baby sacrifice was needed for the pure chakra to be contained in. In essence, you are the Nine Tailed Fox, the Kyuubi No Kitsune!" He was of course, stretching the truth a little, but the information he gave Naruto was sinking in.

Naruto stood there, all of the hate, the glares, whispers and beatings making sense. Why he was hated so much. He looked down, shaking with rage as he came to the grim conclusion that what Mizuki said must be true. He must be the Kyuubi No Kitsune, the Nine Tailed Fox. He gasped, hearing a voice within his head.**_ "Kill, destroy murder! Kill destroy murder! Kill destroy murder! KILL, DESTROY MURDER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WELP!? KILL THAT POMPOUS FOOL!"_ **Iruka looked over to see Naruto's eyes flash red briefly, and in that moment, the kid that used to be Naruto Uzumaki was dead. The kid who once claimed to be Hokage, was gone forever.

"Die demon!" Mizuki yelled, throwing the shuriken, watching as Naruto made no move to dodge. He smirked, chuckling, "Soon the demon will be dead, and I will be praised as a hero. After I dispose of Iruka of course." His eyes widened as the shuriken stopped a few inches from Naruto's face. For Naruto, it seemed as if time had slowed down, his chakra surging from him in one brief moment, his blood boiling. The shuriken then stopped inches from him. Naruto's head rose, eyes blood red and flecked with grey as he growled at Mizuki. "What the fuck?!" Mizuki asked, watching as Naruto blurred away.

Mizuki turned around to see a fist head towards his stomach. Mizuki jumped back, landing on the ground as Naruto rushed him once more, fueled by rage and animal instinct. Mizuki couldn't hold back from the force that the young demon container was, being slammed up against a tree. Several kunai embedded themselves within his wrists and ankles, holding him to the tree. "Let me go you little shit."

"Shut the fuck up, Mizuki." Came the cold reply, as Naruto slammed his fist into Mizuki's head. His head jerked to the side, blood swelling up in his mouth. Naruto gripped the side of his head, "Face me, meatbag." Mizuki was forced to stare into those soulless blood red eyes. "If you think I'm the Kyuubi No Kitsune, then I will gladly oblige you. I think you've lived long enough." Mizuki didn't get a chance to react as Naruto plunged his clawed hand into his chest, ripping out his heart. Mizuki's eyes went wide, staring at his own heart before he died. Naruto dropped the heart, his clawed hands going away, and his eyes changing back to their normal color.

Iruka was shocked, impressed but shocked. Naruto just killed a traitor ninja without any thought about it. He coughed, feeling his life force slip away bit by bit. "Naruto, come here." Naruto walked over to him, silent. Iruka got to his knees, as he gripped Naruto by the shoulders, "No matter what happens, even if you do take on the roll of the Kyuubi No Kitsune, I will always be proud of you. You defended your fellow Leaf ninja, and that's what matters. To me anyways. The other villagers and people can shove it up their ass. You're a hero. If for some reason, you do fall upon the path of darkness, remember this night, okay? Remember me. Close your eyes." Naruto closed his eyes, as Iruka undid his headband, tying it around his. "Okay, open them." Naruto opened them to see Iruka's headband was gone. He reached a hand up to feel the shiny metal upon his forehead. "Congratulations Naruto, you're an official Leaf Ninja." He offered a smile while Naruto's lips curved up into a small smile. His old self may be gone, but a new Naruto was in his place and he would leave his mark upon the ninja world.

"C'mon Iruka-Sensei, let's get you fixed up." Naruto said. He created several clones, as they began the long trek to the hospital. Iruka was put into the ER, and Naruto soon found out he would make a full recovery. Naruto took a look upon the Forbidden Scroll in his hands as he got up, heading towards the Hokage's Tower. He knocked on the Hokage's door, entering when he heard the okay. He opened it, dropping the scroll on The Hokage's desk, holding his wrists out.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" The Third Hokage asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm awaiting my arrest. I stole the Forbidden Scroll. Isn't that punishable by jail? Or death? Something like that?" Naruto replied, the energy and enthusiasm absent.

"Normally yes, but you returned it, found out the true meaning behind on why Mizuki wanted it, and you manged to take him out. Now, on what he said about you being the Nine Tailed Fox.." He was cut off, as Naruto interrupted.

"I don't care. It all makes sense now. The hate and whispers and glares, and the beatings. I understand now. If they see me as the demon, then I shall be the demon for them. I'll be their worst nightmare and make them wish they treated me better. Now, if people are kind to me, I shall be known as Naruto Uzumaki. Think of it as a split personality. You may disapprove of it, but frankly, I don't give a shit. Now, are we done here?" Naruto stated coldly, as he gazed at the Hokage.

"Yes, Naruto. We're done. However, take this for your troubles." The Hokage reached into his desk, pulling out a bag of ryo. "This should hold you for a few months. And, I'll work on finding you a better place than the current accommodations you live in now. Oh, congratulations on being a Leaf Ninja, Naruto. You've earned it. Now, go home and rest. You'll be meeting with your team tomorrow." Naruto left without a word, while the Hokage sighed, puffing on his pipe. He felt older than he had in years. He looked over at the Fourth Hokage's picture, Minato, as he gave a sad smile, "I'm sorry, Minato. I didn't want this for your son. I hope you're not turning in your grave right now."

* * *

The next day Naruto awoke a little before dawn, getting up to get ready for the day. He got dressed, deciding to only wear his orange pants and sandals, accompanied by a black t shirt. In all honesty, he hated the color orange, but couldn't shop anywhere else to get better clothing. He exited his apartment as he headed towards the academy. It was still dark enough so he could avoid having things thrown at him by most people. He walked past Sakura's house, hearing yelling from inside. The next thing he saw was Sakura rush out the door, tears streaming down her face. Naruto normally would've tried to help her, due to him having a crush on her, but last night had changed him. He didn't care about her right now.

Sakura wiped tears from her eyes, as she rubbed a fresh bruise on her upper arm. Her mom had been drinking and had woken her up with throwing a vase at her door. She had yelled at her, calling her a 'stupid little bitch' and calling her worthless. She hated her mom and she wished she would drop dead. Oh well, it was a new day, and she had to find out who was on her team. She gazed over, spotting Naruto walking a few feet away from her. He had his hands shoved in his pockets, paying no attention to her. She sniffled, thinking that she could maybe manipulate him into making her feel better. She walked over, somewhat hesitantly before speaking softly, "Goodmorning, Naruto. What are you doing up this early?"

He gazed over, replying, "Avoiding the morning rush of the villagers. Why does it matter to you? You hate me." His voice lacked the usual luster and excitement, and instead there was coldness and bitterness.

Sakura looked down slightly, "I don't hate you. Just...I dunno. With everyone else calling you deadlast and a loser, I thought I should join in. To draw attention away from me. My big forehead, y'know?" She whispered.

"Peer pressure? Wow, that's low, Sakura. And what's wrong with your forehead? I don't see anything wrong with it. But that's just me." He shrugged, as he continued walking in silence. They arrived at the academy, as Naruto entered, heading immediately for the top row. Sakura, feeling slightly uncomfortable and out of place, sat down a few rows below him.

Naruto closed his eyes, as he began to fall within the recesses of his mind.

_Naruto's mindscape_

He opened his eyes to see himself standing in ankle high sewer water, plumbing and pipes running along the walls. He heard a growl from down the hall, a bloodred glow coming from underneath a door. Curiosity aroused, the young ninja began walking towards the door. Writing placed upon the entrance read '_Sealed Demon Within'. _He swallowed, hoping that the markings wasn't true. He entered, only to come upon a giant cage with something big inside. Big red eyes opened as a grin formed on the maw, razor sharp teeth gleaming in the light. The eyes lowered downwards to gaze upon Naruto, before a voice filled the chamber. **"So**, **you are my jailer? Did you kill the one that told you of me?" **Seeing the boy nod, the creature let out a bark like laugh, **"Good, good. There is hatred flowing from within your soul boy. You used to be pure, but last night changed you. Your soul, once as white as snow, is now white stained with black. Oh, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Kyuubi No Kitsune, the Nine Tailed Fox and leader of the tailed demons." **

"Uh, hi." Came the quiet reply, as the giant fox licked it's lips. "So...why am I here?"

**"Simple kit. I summoned you here. We need to talk. The strength you showed last night was remarkable. I could hone your abilities and make you a force to be reckoned with. However, all of my techniques are obviously demon based attacks. Are you willing to become the next Kyuubi No Kitsune? To become the very thing the villagers have called you for all of your twelve measly years of life?"**

Naruto thought about it, as he scratched his chin, "What the hell do I have to lose? Not like I have any friends or family. What do I have to do?"

**"Come up to the cage, and allow me to cut your hand a bit. It will sting, and as soon as I cut it, I will begin to pour half of one tail into your body. You will have enhanced reflexes, strength, speed and agility. You will be able to move more stealthily, and your metal manipulation will grow with the more tails you obtain. Now, just go about your day and allow the demon to take hold. You'll be the new Kyuubi No Kitsune, and I will be nothing but a mere voice in your head. Goodbye, Uzumaki."**

_End Naruto's mindscape_

Naruto opened his eyes to see Sakura snapping her fingers in front of his eyes. "What?" He asked, narrowing his eyes. Sakura faltered, before she leaned against the counter.

"Where'd you get the headband? I thought you didn't pass?" It was a legitimate question, and her head was tilted in question, her green eyes shining with curiosity and confusion.

"I got extra credit. That's all you need to know. Now, do you need anything else? If not, please go sit down." He said, crossing his arms as he closed his eyes once more. He could feel the power of Kyuubi running through him, and it made him feel good. Dangerously good. He let a dark smirk cross his face, as he let out a small chuckle.

Sakura paid no attention to his order, as she sat to study him. Something was different. What happened to the bumbling idiot that was screaming about becoming Hokage just yesterday? Where did that Naruto go? And who was this new Naruto? The way he carried himself was with an aura of being laidback, but always on alert. Was this the real Naruto? She frowned, realizing she hadn't given him a chance, ever. Perhaps she could rectify that. Time would tell. "So...mind if I sit next to you?" She asked rather lamely. Getting a nod, she scooted to the seat next to him. "Naruto, what happened? Why do the villagers give you mean looks? I mean, I've noticed, but you haven't really talked about it, nor have I asked. That was selfish of me. Would you mind telling me?"

Naruto rose an eyebrow, an unasked question on his mind, '_Why does she want to know? Why now? Is it just to make herself feel better? Is it to manipulate me? Why the hell is she so...confusing?' _He let out a sigh, "I won't tell you. You don't have my trust, nor do you have the right to know. Not yet. Only time will tell if I will ever disclose that information to you. I hope you understand."

She nodded, "Alright, I can deal with that. Good luck on whoever your team is, Naruto." She stared down at Iruka, who was in a wheelchair. "Oh god, what happened to Iruka-Sensei?" She covered her mouth with her hand, several of the students murmuring and gasping. Iruka gave everyone a bright smile, the brightest being towards Naruto.

"Alright class, I have an announcement. Last night, Mizuki attempted to steal the Forbidden Scroll, but our classes most unpredictable ninja and I stopped him. I suffered an injury in an attempt to protect him, but it turned out he didn't need it. He successfully created several clones, but how he did it is a secret. With him taking the Forbidden Scroll back, I awarded him with my headband, and he is an official Leaf Ninja. The Hokage agreed with me 100 percent. Naruto, stand up if you would." All eyes turned toward Naruto, who stood up with a victorious smirk on his face before he sat back down. "Now, we're going to introduce your teams. Are you all ready?" Iruka received a chorus of 'Yeahs' and a chuckle escaped his lips.

"I wonder who I'll be with." Sakura whispered to herself. "Maybe I'll be with Sauske. Or Naruto." She whispered the very last person lower than before, but Naruto picked up on it with his new hearing. He said nothing as he waiting for Iruka to call off the teams.

"Alright, Team 7 is Sauske, Ino and Choji and their Sensei will be Kakashi Hatake. Team 8 is still in revision from last year. Team 9 is Hinata, Shino and Kiba and their sensei will be Kurenai Yurhi. Team 10 is Naruto, Shikamaru and Sakura with their sensei being Asuma Sarutobi. Congratulations on becoming ninja, and I hope you all serve the Leaf Village proudly. I enjoyed being your instructor. Now, you all may talk quietly."

Shikamaru got up, sitting below Naruto and Sakura as he looked up at the two, "So I'm with you two eh? This should be interesting. And Naruto, congrats on passing. Somehow I knew you'd do it, even if it wasn't with the boring old test they give here. By the way, you've been awfully quiet. Is something wrong, or did you finally drop that fake smile you've been wearing?" Shikamaru saw shock within his eyes, as he smirked, "Yeah, I know. They don't call me a genius for nothing."

Naruto shrugged, after relaxing, "Well, I decided it was time for a change. Stop acting predictable, loud, obnoxious and annoying, and be stealthy, plan my moves out, and be who I really am inside." He got up, stretching as he let out a yawn. "I think our sensei is here. Look." He nodded towards the door, revealing a man with a goatee and a cigarette in his mouth.

"Team 10?" The male asked, looking around. Naruto went down the stairs, followed by Shikamaru and Sakura. "So you're my team then huh? Alright then. Meet me in the park in fifteen minutes or you automatically fail." Asuma then disappeared via shunshin leaving the three new genin to groan in disappointment. Naruto walked outside, followed by the other two.

"Alright then, let's try a little test. Let's see who has the best endurance out of us. Whoever's last gets to be the winners slave for a day." Naruto spoke, before bursting off and started running, leaving the other two in the dust. Shikamaru came to his senses as he took off after him. Sakura was in last place, but she refused to be a slave, especially to Naruto. Naruto ducked in and out of alley ways, jumping up onto the roof as he continued his way to the park. He saw Asuma in sight, a victorious grin on his face. Cocky as ever, he sensed Shikamaru behind him, followed closely by Sakura. He frowned slightly, pumping just a little bit of chakra into his feet as he rushed off faster, leaving a gap between them. Naruto made it to Asuma first, with Shikamaru in second. Sakura came in last, breathing hard and panting. She grasped her sides, not used to having to run like that. "Alright then, I win and Sakura, that means you lose. You think you're honorable enough to hold up your end of the bargain?"

Sakura caught her breath, as she nodded. Asuma rose an eyebrow, before he leaned against the tree, "Alright then. We'll start with introductions. I'll go first. My name is Asuma Sarutobi, my likes are none of your business, my dislikes are rapists, murderers, and scum. My hobbies include Shogi and smoking. You, pinky, you're next."

Sakura glared at her sensei before clearing her throat, "My name is Sakura Haruno and my likes include Sasuke, flowers, beating Ino-Pig, and my dislikes include assholes, rude jerks," With this she shot a small glance at Naruto, who paid no attention to her, "and my hobbies include watching the sunrise and sunset."

"Alright then. Pineapple, you're next." Came the reply, as Asuma let out an internal sigh. '_Great, we have a fangirl...If Ino is anything like Sakura, then she will be just as bad or worse about Sasuke.' _

"Troublesome. My name is Shikamaru Nara, and I enjoy watching clouds and sleeping. Troublesome blondes and loud people are my dislikes. Hobbies are Shogi, sleeping and cloud watching." Came the lazy drawl, as he gazed up to see the clouds.

"Right. Whiskers, you're next."

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. As of last night, I don't know what my likes or hobbies are, but I dislike traitors, rapists and cowards." Came the quiet reply, as Naruto had his eyes closed in thought. "Are we done here, Asuma-Sensei?"

"Yes, Naruto, we're done. Meet me at Training Ground 10 at seven o' clock sharp tomorrow morning to see if you can pass the real test."

"What? There's another test? I thought we passed the test already!" Sakura cried out, protesting.

"Oh you passed the academy test sure, but it's up to me to decide if I'll take you under my wing or not. If you pass, then we'll officially be a unit. See you tomorrow." With that, Asuma disappeared leaving the three teens to themselves.

"So...want to do anything?" Shikamaru asked, gazing at his two teammates. He sighed, seeing the other two get up and start walking away, "I guess not. Well, looks like it's just me and you clouds. Wouldn't have it any other way." He grinned, closing his eyes once more.

Naruto began walking away from the park, heading towards the Training ground, and would've kept going had he not heard the slight increase in speed of Sakura's heartbeat. Soon it began to beat faster, as she started to run. Trying to get away. But from what? He turned, slowly heading in her direction, speeding up as she heard her throw something at her assailant. "No, stay away!" She cried out, her heart beating frantically in her chest. Naruto turned into the alley way, only to see two men closing in on the girl. He narrowed his eyes, picking up a rock as he chucked it at them. The rock sailed through the air, hitting the first one on the head as he turned around.

"Pick on someone your own size, asshole. Better yet, come closer so I can make sure your dick doesn't work again." He had no weapons on his body, but he was sure that if need be, he could use Kyuubi's chakra. Hell, he didn't really care if Sakura saw him as a demon.

"What? A punk like you couldn't stop us. We'll defeat you then we'll take the girl for our own." The leader said, as he drew a knife from his pocket. The other drew a knife as well as they both began to approach him. Naruto fell into a slight defensive stance, his eyes narrowed. The lackey charged him, swinging at him with his knife. Naruto ducked under, backing up slightly as he slammed his knee into the male's gut. The male doubled over, before slashing at Naruto once more. With his enhanced reflexes, Naruto grabbed onto his wrist, twisting it away from him as he disarmed him. He quickly grabbed the knife, before slashing the man's throat.

The leader and Sakura watched with slight horror and terror as the second guy grabbed his throat, falling to the floor and bleeding out. "What...what the fuck? You're not taking me down!" The male charged, fueled with rage as he attempted to slash at the young blonde.

"Naruto watch out!" Sakura cried out, actually fearing for her new teammate. Naruto paid her no heed as he dodged the attacks from the male. He kept dodging, but deciding that Sakura would owe him for saving her life, he smirked, having a small sick plan in mind. Naruto grunted in slight pain as the blade entered his shoulder. He growled, grabbing the male by the ears, headbutting him. The male, stunned couldn't recover before Naruto grabbed both knives as he stabbed them within the male's eye sockets. The male let out a low scream and was promptly silenced as Naruto throatpunched him, his enhanced strength breaking his trachea. The male dropped as Naruto looked at Sakura, who looked back with gratefulness and gratitude. She walked over to him and wrapped him up in a tight hug, tears falling silently. She pulled away, wiping her tears away, "Thank you, Naruto...I don't know what I would have done. I froze up. Are you okay?" She asked, looking at his wound.

"Yeah, Sakura, I'm fine. I was more worried about you. However, if you want to judge me for killing those men, I understand. I just did whatever I could to keep you safe, like any Leaf ninja should. Now, let's get you home." Naruto said, as he offered a hand to Sakura. She looked at it, before taking it and together, they walked to her house. Once arriving, Sakura turned to him, looking at him questioningly, "Yes?"

"Well, if you want, I'll bandage that up for you." She offered, a small blush on her face. She raced inside, coming back out with bandages. "Lift up your shirt, Naruto." Her blush increased, as he did so, revealing a few scars and the beginning of toned muscles. He was only 13, but due to him running and trying to survive the beatings made him stronger and teach him to eat right when he could, and exercise regularly. With age and growth, his muscles would become more developed. She wrapped the bandages around his arm. He lifted his shirt back down, and on impulse she reached out, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "Thank you again, Naruto. I'll see you tomorrow." She turned and went inside, leaving Naruto to stand there slightly shocked.

* * *

What do you guys think of this first chapter? Also, I'm a fan of metal manipulation, so I thought why not let Naruto have it? It's his secret bloodline ability. However, He won't be able to use it against big swords, such as Zabuza's, but he can use it against kunai, shuriken and most weapons. However, it grows as he grows. His power is only limited to how powerful he is. Naruto saved Sakura, and perhaps started something between them. I know the romance is kinda rushed, but I wanted to hit things off with them and get the ball rolling so to speak.

-V


	2. Team 10 is Born, Safety Within His Arms

Welcome back to The Darkness Grows From Within. I have received a review asking why Asuma would test their endurance. However, Asuma never made a test for their endurance, Naruto did. Naruto won, and Sakura lost, making Sakura his slave for a week. Now, while Naruto may have less regard for the village now, he still hates rapists and will protect any woman against them, including Sakura. As for his metal manipulation, it was something I threw in at the last minute because I thought it would be cool. I edited the first chapter, and in this one, Naruto will read up more on metal manipulation. The first time he used it was due to Kyuubi's influence and his massive chakra reserves practically pushing the kunai into Mizuki's body. I know the first chapter can be slightly confusing, but PM me and I will be sure to clear everything up for you. I hope you all enjoy this next chapter. I own nothing of Naruto, they all belong to Kishimoto.

-V

* * *

Naruto awoke bright and early, having been awakened from nightmares and paranoia. He sighed, rubbing his face as he turned on the small lamp on the nightstand, grabbing the book '_Elemental Affinities and Combinations' _before he flipped to the metal manipulation section as he began to read more in-depth of the certain affinity. His eyes flew over the pages, as he began to file away information within his mind for later on.

_Metal Manipulation: This certain element is unlocked through extreme stress, which means that this is a bloodline ability. It is unrecorded of which clan had this ability, but if they have this bloodline, they can control most metal substances. They can throw kunai and shuriken much faster and farther, as well as deflecting any metal object away from their body. It takes immense chakra reserves to control it, however, and if their chakra reserves are small they could die from chakra exhaustion. Metal Manipulation eats away at the chakra, so it is advised not to constantly use it unless they have to. _

Naruto rose an eyebrow, as he scratched his chin in thought. "So, due to me having huge chakra reserves, would I have to worry about chakra exhaustion from this? Only time will tell, I suppose. Oh well, let's go train." He got up, getting dressed as he headed towards Training Ground 10. Arriving there, he quickly created some clones. "Alright, listen up. One group will train with me, pushing me to my limits, while the other will practice their metal manipulation and try to see how quickly it drains you, if any. I gave you all some of my chakra, that way you can last longer in battle, and we'll be able to tell the effects of the metal manipulation. Okay, get to it!"

The clones broke up into two groups, doing what they were told. Naruto slid into a defensive stance, as he watched the clones charge. Ducking under one of them, Naruto pushed the clone away before grabbing the fist of another, breaking it. The clone backed up in pain, as Naruto dispelled it quickly by slamming a kunai into it's head. Tightening his grip on the kunai, the boy smirked as the other clones began to charge, acting rash and hot headed. Naruto would have acted like that, but he figured that he would be calmer and more collected in fights, studying the enemy instead. He backflipped, slamming two heads together as they dispersed. Landing, he rolled to the side as he dodged a dropkick from one of them. A clone managed to sneak behind him, grabbing him in a Full Nelson while the others went to strike. Naruto grunted, heaving with his body weight as he threw the clone over his head, slamming him into the other clones, dispelling them.

He continued to battle the clones until the only ones that remained were the ones studying metal manipulation. He sighed, leaning against a tree as he regained his breath. He wiped sweat from his brow, before staring up at the sky. The sun was just beginning to rise, and that meant that he had an hour to relax until his team showed up. He scratched his chin, creating two more clones into existence. "Alright, I'm sick of wearing this pathetic orange garb. I want you two to go out into the market and try to get me several articles of clothing. Go find me several pairs of military combat pants, one pair of combat boots, and several black t shirts. I'm back in black, you hear? If you get the clothes, bring one pair to me so I can change. The other clone can go to the house, put the clothes up, burn the rest of the orange clothing. Now go." He sat down at the base of the tree, closing his eyes.

* * *

Shikamaru exited his house, heading to the market to get a bite to eat. He rose an eyebrow as he saw Naruto exiting the clothing shop, followed by another, each with bags of clothes around their arms. "Hey Naruto...and Naruto. What's going on?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"Oh you know, shopping for the boss." Came the reply of one.

"Yeah, speaking of which, we'll talk to you later. He's expecting us!" The other answered as they both ran off, heading towards Naruto's home. Shikamaru shook his head and continued on his way to get breakfast. The two clones split up, one heading to the house and the other heading towards the training ground.

Sakura rushed out the door, hearing a cup shatter against it as soon as she closed it. She breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she was away from the bitch she called 'mother'. She walked down the steps, and started heading in the direction of the training grounds, only to see Naruto enter his house. She was about to speak to him, when she saw another Naruto head towards the training ground. "What the hell?" She muttered to herself, as she found her feet moving her in the direction of the training ground. Arriving she saw a group of Naruto's experimenting with kunai's, and she saw the one she followed giving black clothing to the original. Naruto, expecting no one there, stripped out of his clothing and threw them in the river. He got on his pants and boots, followed by his shirt as he tied his headband around his arm. Sakura gave a small 'eep' as she hid behind a tree, her face fire red. She eventually calmed down, coming out of her hiding spot and acting like she just arrived. "Hey Naruto, good morning." She waved, offering a smile.

"Good morning, Sakura. Sleep well?" Came the reply, as Naruto finished tying his boots. She nodded as he offered a small smile, "Good to hear. Alright clones, disperse!" The clones saluted and disappeared within a giant cloud of smoke, until Naruto and Sakura remained in the area. Naruto frowned, groaning in slight pain as the information from the clones filled up his head.

"What is it?" Sakura asked, slightly concerned.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just the information from the clones was a lot." He shrugged. "Where's Shikamaru?"

"I have no idea. I just came from the house." Sakura answered as she fiddled with her fingers, a little nervous. "So uh, what now?"

"Now we wait." He responded, as he sat down and crossed his legs. "You might as well sit down. We got fifteen minutes or less until Asuma-Sensei arrives."

She smiled slightly, sitting down as she looked over at him, "Thank you again, for saving my life." She looked down, a bit ashamed as she clenched her fists, "I froze up and I was scared. I didn't know what to do."

Naruto's eyes lost their coldness as they softened up. "Hey," he started off softly, "it's fine. Just be glad I arrived in time. If you want, I can train you. Teach you to not freeze up in case something like that happens again. If you do agree, you can just prove to Ino that you're better than her, and that gives you a small chance for Sasuke."

Sakura's lips curved up into a smile at the thought of beating Ino-Pig, but somewhat fell at the mention of Sasuke's name. Last night had changed her and opened her eyes to realize that he wasn't anything to special. Naruto saved her. Naruto had a crush on her since he was little. Naruto had always been there for her. Sasuke had not, and he wouldn't even give her the time of day. Maybe she had been following the wrong guy blindly. Maybe she needed to give Naruto a chance, even more so now since he saved her life. "That sounds fine. Am I still your slave for a week?" She asked somewhat timidly, looking over at him with big green eyes.

Naruto looked startled by the question, before he gazed over at her, "No, not if you don't want to be. But I'll be willing to train you. Think you'll be able to get up at sunrise to meet me here?"

Sakura nodded, "Yes, I will be able to. And as for me being your slave, I'll consider it." Secretly, she wanted to be his slave just to get to know him better, but how could she say that? They fell into a comfortable silence as Shikamaru walked up, Asuma-Sensei following behind.

"Morning guys." Came the lazy drawl as Shikamaru stood next to them. "Looks like the gang's all here. Time to see what the test is."

"Glad to see you're all here bright and early. Naruto, nice look by the way. Better than the orange you wore." Asuma complimented, as he smirked, "Alright, the test today is to try to track me. I'll be placing checkpoints around the village and you have until noon to find me. There's a secret to this test, and I'm almost certain you'll figure it out. Good luck. Begin as soon as I vanish."

As soon as he vanished, Shikamaru narrowed his eyes trying to formulate a plan. The secret to the test would probably be working as a team. He overheard from his father that most of the tests were about teamwork. If they could work as a team, they had a greater chance of survivability out in the field. Seeing Sakura and Naruto about to rush off, he called out to them. "Hey guys! Not so fast. Wait a second." Seeing he had their attention, he continued, "Alright, I think the secret to this test is teamwork. My father mentioned something about the tests being about teamwork. So we have to work as a team to find Asuma-Sensei."

"I have an idea that goes well with team work." Naruto smirked as he created a lot of clones, before copying them to look like Sakura and Shikamaru respectively. "Alright, we'll allow the clones to do the work, searching for Asuma-Sensei and if he dispels them, we'll be one step closer to finding him. As soon as the last pair are gone, Shikamaru will capture Asuma-Sensei with his shadow clone jutsu, while me and Sakura prepare to tie him up, as if this was an actual mission out in the field. Sound good?"

Shikamaru shook his head, "Nah. Let's do this by the books and do it as a team. We could use clones, but I think that would count as cheating somehow. Sorry Naruto."

Naruto waved his apology away as he dispersed the clones. "C'mon then, let's go." He rushed off, followed by Sakura and Shikamaru. "Where would the most logical place to look first be at, Shikamaru?"

"I dunno. Hm. Well, me and him usually play Shogi at my place around this time because it's before we have to go to the academy. Let's check there." Shikamaru took the lead as Naruto and Sakura followed. Naruto got closer to Sakura without consciously knowing it. Sakura looked over, blushing slightly before they increased their speed. Eventually they arrived at Shikamaru's place, and on the table Asuma and he play Shogi was a single piece of paper.

"What's it say, Shikamaru?" Sakura asked, trying to read over his shoulder as he picked it up.

"Checkpoint 1. Only three more to go." Came the reply as Shikamaru scratched his head. "Hm. But where to go now?"

"Well, me and Asuma-Sensei interacted once every Thursday at the ice cream stand." Sakura said, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I don't know if there will be a checkpoint there, but there's only one way to find out. Follow me." She took off into a light jog, followed by Shikamaru and lastly by Naruto. The blonde ninja was trying to figure out where he had talked to Asuma-Sensei before, but he was drawing a blank which irritated him. They arrived at the ice cream stand, where the owner gave Sakura a piece of paper. "Checkpoint 2. Two more left. Also here's a hint for Naruto. Where do you go when you're feeling blue? We met there once." She turned to Naruto, confusion on her face. Shikamaru rose an eyebrow, confused as well. "Well, Naruto? Where would that be?"

Naruto rubbed his whiskered cheeks, as he pondered. '_I only go to the Hokage Monument when I'm feeling blue. Did I meet him there once? Or maybe it was at the academy swingset. I don't...wait! It was at the Hokage Monument. He told me to never give up on something I wanted, and he also told me to ignore the villagers when they got to me. He was one of the first ones to ever treat me like a human being...' _He smirked as he nodded, "I know where it is. C'mon." He took off in a sprint as the other two followed. This was a game of cat and mouse, and they were getting closer to capturing the mouse.

They arrived at the bottom of Hokage Monument as Naruto continued to run up to the top. They arrived to see a glass container with a slip of paper. Naruto popped the lid and pulled out the paper as he read, "Checkpoint 3. The last one is where we all met. No, it wasn't at the academy. Think carefully. Now what the fuck could that be? Where have we all met him before?"

They all sat and pondered on this last checkpoint. After an hour of sitting on top of the Hokage monument, Shikamaru got up. "I think I know where we have all seen him before."

"Where's that?" Sakura asked, still perplexed.

"The park. It was a few years ago, when Choji was getting picked on by some bullies. Remember? Me, you and Naruto defended Choji, and then Asuma-Sensei came up and defended Choji as well. Alright, let's go to the park." Naruto and Sakura got up as well, as the three genin rushed to the park. Thirty minutes later they arrived as they saw Asuma-Sensei leaning against a tree with a cigarette in his mouth. The Leaf Jonin noticed them as he smirked. He handed Shikamaru a piece of paper who promptly read it, "Checkpoint 4. Congratulations, you found me, therefore passing your test. You are official Leaf ninja."

Sakura clapped her hands and smiled and Naruto smirked. Shikamaru chuckled before Asuma held up a camera. "Picture time guys." He handed the camera to a random citizen, standing behind the three with a giant smile as he ruffled Shikamaru and Naruto's hair. Naruto stood with his arms crossed as Shikamaru had his hands in his pockets. Sakura gave a peace sign with her tongue sticking out. Team 10 was officially born, and they were ready to start their first mission in the morning. "Alright guys, meet me at Training Ground 10 tomorrow morning for a quick training session. Afterwards we'll go to the Hokage's office and try to see if we can get a mission. Now, I warn you, the missions will start off dull. Walking dogs, picking weeds, painting fences, stuff like that. Later on we'll get bigger missions, don't worry. Regardless, you all did great. Now, I have to go talk to the Hokage. I shall see you all later. You guys have the rest of the day off." He vanished within a cloud of leafs as Naruto turned to the others.

"Well, we have the rest of the day off. What do you guys wanna do?" Like he said to the Hokage, the villagers would see the demon, while his friends would see Naruto Uzumaki. He was slowly warming up to the female teammate, his crush not entirely gone. He planned to ask her out on a date, should they not have a mission or anything. Maybe this time she would say yes.

"Well, I can't do anything. I gotta go clean the house for my mom, otherwise she won't stop nagging. Later you two." Shikamaru waved his goodbye, walking off with a smirk on his face. He could see the obvious affection between the two, even though they hadn't been on a team for more than a day. Something happened between the two, and hopefully they would end up together.

Naruto scratched the back of his head, retaining somewhat of his childlike personality as he gave a foxy grin. "So uh Sakura...I was thinking maybe if you wanted to train right now we could. Or I was thinking maybe...we could go see a movie or something?" Sakura looked over, a small smile on her face. She didn't see the harm in it.

"Well for now, I think we could train to perfect my skills as a kunoichi. Give me time to get ready tomorrow or whatever, and we'll go see a movie, okay Naruto?" Her smile grew as she saw a light of happiness shine in his eyes. He nodded as they walked off to the training grounds once more. This marked the start of a friendship that could perhaps grow into something more. The two walked off with their heads held high, Naruto glaring back at any villager that got close, while Sakura leaned towards him for a sense of safety. The villagers creeped her out, and she felt those glares directed at him. She wanted to help protect him, to the best of her ability.

Arriving at the training ground Naruto stood as he gazed over Sakura's defensive stance. It was a standard academy taught style, and it had many flaws. She wasn't much of a fighter herself, and he doubt he would have to use much of his strength to hurt her. However, a part of him didn't want to hurt her in any way. He fell into a boxer stance, keeping on his toes as his hands were in front of his face. Sakura rose an eyebrow at the move, before she launched herself at him. Naruto braced himself as she aimed strikes for his torso. His hands quickly blocked hers, soon finding out that her punches were sloppy and lacked power. He would have to fix that. Within moments he stopped her. "Wait, wait wait. Sakura stop." She stopped, confused, "Your punches are sloppy and lacking power. Okay, next time you punch someone, throw your shoulder out as well and throw your weight into the punch. It'll be more powerful that way. And for your hair, as long as it is I can understand you were wanting to impress Uchiha, however out there in battle they will be willing to kill you, not notice you from your looks. You're going to have to cut it. You can have a ponytail, but at the same time, it would be better to have it short, perhaps shoulder length?"

She nodded, taking his advice into consideration. "Alright. Is that it?"

"No, it's not. You're going to give me twenty push-ups, and then twenty sit-ups. We're going to build your endurance and stamina first before we actually work on your training. Think you can handle this?" She nodded, dropping to the ground as she began her push-ups. When she finished her first set, she was breathing hard and could barley support herself. Naruto got onto his back, as he began doing sit-ups with Sakura, trying to encourage her to push herself. The sit-ups and push-ups done, Naruto got up, sending a clone to go grab them a bottle of water. "You're doing good, Sakura. You're doing wonderful, actually. I'm proud." Sakura blushed at his praise but said nothing. Naruto wiped the sweat off his brow, as he chuckled, "So, how do you think we're going to operate as a unit?"

"I think we're going to do fine." She took the water from the clone who saluted before vanishing. She opened it, taking a drink before asking, "So...why do the villagers give you such cruel looks and whispers?" Seeing Naruto's eyes go blank and his face as well, she frowned. "Sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up. I mean, why should you tell me?"

Naruto sighed, realizing he wasn't being fair to her. He saved her life, so he supposed he could tell her a little bit about himself. "Let's just say that I have a secret. I will tell you, but later on, okay? I promise." He offered a small smile. "C'mon, I'll walk you home. I gotta go talk to the Hokage about something."

Sakura frowned at the mention of home, before she got up. "Do you mind if I come with you? I don't really enjoy home..." She trailed off, her hair obscuring her eyes. Naruto rose an eyebrow, before nodding. "Thank you." She said softly. The two went to the Hokage's office in silence, the glares now leaning towards Sakura, with whispers of 'Demon Whore' reaching her ears. She had no idea what it meant, but she hated it. She knew it had to do with Naruto, but why call him a demon? Naruto growled, pulling Sakura closer to him as if claiming her. He was going to make sure to protect her should anything go down. Sakura blushed at the contact, but said nothing as she was secretly enjoying it. The two fell into a comfortable silence as they arrived at the Hokage's office.

Naruto knocked on the door, hearing the Hokage's voice from within, "Enter." Naruto and Sakura entered as the Hokage smiled, "Ah, Naruto how're you doing today? And who is this?" He nodded to Sakura, who bowed slightly.

"I'm fine jiji. This is Sakura-Chan. She's my teammate alongside Shikamaru Nara for Team 10. Also, I was wondering if you had found a place for me yet."

The Hokage smiled at the chan suffix added to Sakura's name while the pinkette blushed deeply. He filed through some papers as he pulled out a piece of paper and a key. "Yes, actually I have Naruto. It's a single bedroom apartment, living room, kitchen, bathroom and shower. There is already furniture and a bed there, along with a TV, fridge, toilet and shower. Here you go. Just sign there at the bottom, then the apartment is yours." Naruto's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree as he signed it quickly. "You two have a nice day." Naruto pocketed the key, as he smiled before the two exited.

"So Sakura, do you want to check out the new apartment with me?" Naruto suggested, realizing it was only two in the afternoon. An older looking version of Sakura came up to the two pre-teens, alcohol thick on her breath.

"Sakura, you dumb bitch! Where the fuck have you been? Have you been sleeping with the demon of Konoha?! You slut!" She slurred, stumbling to grab Sakura. "Come home with me, and do your chores, you worthless piece of shit." Sakura looked down, tears welling up in her eyes. Naruto narrowed his eyes, stepping in front of the two while the Hokage exited his office. He narrowed his eyes, sensing an abusive relationship between the two women. "Get away from her, demon! I won't have her tainted by your filth." She reached out to strike the boy, but the Hokage was upon her, grabbing her wrist. "Let go of me, you old man." She was drunk and when people are drunk, they usually say stupid things.

"I think that you can think about what you're doing in jail. Bear-San, take her away." An ANBU wearing the Bear mask came and escorted her away, while the Hokage kneeled down in front of Naruto and Sakura, embracing them both in hugs. "Miss Haruno, you don't have to explain what's going on, but if something happens for you to testify in front of the council, will you do so?" She nodded, wiping tears away. "Alright. For now, you're going to need a place to stay, aren't you? Naruto, do you think Sakura could stay with you for a while?" Naruto nodded, while the Hokage smiled, "Good to hear. Off you two go then. I'll go start to do more paperwork that this will surely bring." He gave a fake groan as he got up and headed back into his office.

Naruto created several clones to go gather Sakura's clothing and toiletries, while Naruto showed Sakura his new apartment. They sat on the couch and watched TV, before Sakura confessed to Naruto about her abusive life at home. She shed some tears, but Naruto held her in his arms as he comforted her. He was being the best teammate and friend he could be. He had a crush on the female, and he would do anything to keep her safe, even show his demonic side. In time, he would come clean with her. But for now, he would continue to be there for her and stay by her side.

* * *

Chapter 2 is done, and Chapter 3 will be soon worked on here shortly. Naruto and Sakura are now living together while Sakura's mom sobers up in jail and maybe put there permanently for abuse. Find out next time in The Darkness Grows From Within! Leave a review if you enjoyed this chapter!

-V


	3. Naruto's Secret is Out!

Welcome to Chapter 3 of The Darkness Grows From Within. Last time Sakura and Naruto got somewhat closer, while her mother went to jail for threatening to spill Naruto's secret to the child, and for being drunk. Let's get started, shall we?

-V

* * *

Sakura awoke within Naruto's arms, probably falling asleep there the night before. She got up, yawning as she grabbed a fresh pair of panties and her bra seeing Naruto out like a light. She stepped into the bathroom, her clothes hitting the floor as she turned on the water. She looked at herself in the mirror, frowning slightly as her figure. She had hardly any muscle, and her ribs here showing slightly from the lack of nutrients and protein she didn't get from her meals. She figured Sasuke liked skinny girls, so her diet consisted of only vegetables and some meat but not enough apparently. She sighed slightly, "Perhaps Naruto will change that. Maybe he'll actually get me to eat more than a few bites of meat and get me some meat on my bones." She blushed slightly at the thought of the blonde. She felt safe in his arms and actually didn't mind being held by him. She gritted her teeth, eyes downcast as she clenched her fists remembering why she was with Naruto in the first place: Her mother, Mebuki Haruno.

The matriarch of the Haruno clan was angry at the Nine Tailed Fox for taking her husband away from her all those years ago, right after Sakura had been born. She fell into a deep depression, turning to alcohol and the arms of a random man every other night for comfort. Whenever Sakura got old enough to walk and be independent, Mebuki put her straight to work as her little house slave. Whenever she didn't do anything right or did something wrong, Mebuki took her to her room and had her way with the youngest Haruno. The small pinkette was still a virgin in sense of vaginal penetration, but that didn't leave out oral. Her mother abused her mouth whenever she could with whatever object she could find that could fit. She was a true monster. Sakura hated her and would gladly testify to the council should the Hokage need her confession or testimony.

She shook her head, in turn shaking away the painful memories and past as she stepped into the shower. She washed her body, her soap smelling of cherry leaves and carnations, which to her was a wonderful combination. Apparently to the other occupant in the house it was a wonderful combination as well, because as soon as the smell lingered over to Naruto's nose and he inhaled, his eyes opened slowly. Naruto got up, yawning as he heard the shower running. Cobwebs still in his brain he paid no attention to it as he entered the bathroom, lifting up the toilet seat as he pulled out his member and relieved himself. Sakura froze, her breathing stopping at once. Naruto finished his business as he flushed the toilet barely allowing the pinkette to jump back from the scalding hot water. Hearing the door close, she breathed a sigh of relief as she continued her shower. Soon done, she exited as she dried off, grabbing her bra and panties sliding them on. Towel wrapped around her figure, she exited the bathroom, almost running into Naruto who had his back turned. She felt her face heat up like she was a furnace, seeing her teammate only in his boxers. She did see him in the same state the day before, but even so. Her green eyes widened, noticing several scars on Naruto's back and shoulders, but where did he acquire them from?

Naruto heard her exit the bathroom and stop a few feet behind him. He acted like he hadn't though as he continued to get dressed. He turned to the left as he acted like he hadn't seen her yet as he went to the kitchen to grab breakfast. Hearing the female go finish getting dressed, Naruto felt it safe to call out, "Hey Sakura, what do you want to eat?"

"Uh, anything really." Came the reply from the bedroom, as she put the old clothes in a laundry bag for later. She entered the kitchen as she gazed over at him, Naruto currently making pancakes and other breakfast items. Her mouth salivated at the smell, her stomach growling. Naruto chuckled as Sakura blushed out of embarrassment, "Shut up Naruto, stop being mean." Naruto turned to look at her, a grin plastered on his face. Sakura jutted her lip out into a pout, "Naruto!" She whined, "Quit being mean!"

Naruto flipped the pancakes as he rolled his eyes, "Yes princess. How do you like your eggs? Got any preference?" Seeing her shake her head no, Naruto smirked as he began to scramble the eggs. Soon they and the pancakes were done, toast popped out of the toaster. Naruto gave her most of the food, noticing that she was more underweight than he was. He was going to fatten her up, get her back into shape and then train her harder than she has ever been trained in her life. He took a bite of his toast, swallowing before asking, "Sleep well?"

"Yes, Naruto I did. How about you? You seemed rather content with me in your arms last night." She teased, poking fun at how he held her protectively in his sleep. Naruto coughed, sputtering as his face turned red. "Oh relax Naruto, I'm just messing with you. To be honest, I enjoyed it." It was her turn to blush as Naruto smiled. They fell into a comfortable silence and finished their breakfast. Naruto washed the dishes and put them away before he turned to her. "Ready to go?" She asked.

Naruto leaned down, tying his boots as he stood back up. "Ready. Let's go see what missions we got to do." They left the house with Naruto locking up as they made their way to the Hokage's tower. Sakura ignored all the whispers and glares directed towards her, holding her head high, acting as if the villagers were beneath her. Naruto saw this and smirked, thinking to himself. '_Well, if I'm going demon and dark, why not see if we can get this girl with me as well? She has enough reasons to, even more so with the villagers calling her my demon slut. I really hope they keep this up. If they do, within a few years we'll be able to take our revenge against these spineless maggots.' _

They arrived at the Hokage's office, Asuma and Shikamaru walking up to the entrance right beside them. "Morning you two. Sleep well?" Asuma asked, smiling when the two teens nodded, "Good to hear. What about you Shikamaru?" Receiving a glare that screamed volumes of more sleep, Asuma chuckled, "Same old Shikamaru. Alright guys, let's see what the Hokage has in store for us today." He knocked on the door, the team entering when they got the okay. "Hello, Hokage-Sama, do you have any missions for us today?" Asuma asked, being respectful even though the Hokage was his father.

"Ah, Team 10, I suppose I have something for you." He joked with them, pulling out a single file as he skimmed over it. "Ah, yes here we go. We'll start you off nice and easy. It's a D rank mission with minimum pay, but it's still pay. You'll be painting a fence, however it's surrounding his entire house. It should take you about an hour or two. Maybe less if you guys work fast. You all are dismissed. Good luck on your first official ninja mission." The Hokage gave a shit eating grin as he chuckled, watching the three genin glare at him.

"Alright you guys come on. Let's get to work." Asuma said with a cheery and enthusiastic tone. The three students trudged behind him as they groaned, seeing the size of the fence and the perimeter. Together they got to work and while the grueling work was tedious and boring, it made the client happy and that's what mattered, they figured. Once done, they all took a break at the ice cream stand, talking and bonding as a team. "Well, I'll go tell the old man about the mission success. You all take it easy, and stay out of trouble." He walked off, while Shikamaru turned to the other two.

"So guys, I'm free today. But I think it's going to help if we do some team building exercises. What do you say we go train?" Shikamaru's suggestion caught the other two off guard. Normally if they had time off, Shikamaru would want to cloud watch or sleep or play Shogi. But there's always a first for everything. "So, what do you say?" Shikamaru pressed, grinning at the two.

"Sure, let's do it. Sakura?" Naruto looked over, seeing her nod in confirmation. "Well Shikamaru, lead the way." The three made their way to the training ground, stretching as a pre-warm up. Naruto stood up, creating several clones as he looked to his teammates. "Alright guys, what do you say we spar the clones as a team, then we spar against each other?"

"Sure, that sounds good." Sakura replied while Shikamaru nodded. The three stood side by side as the clones formed a circle around them. The various clones attacked from all directions, the team bursting into action. Shikamaru and Naruto stood back to back as they pushed the clones away while Sakura threw kunai and shuriken from beside them, the three forming a triangle. Soon the clones were dispersed from weapons, taijutsu and teamwork. They took a small break, before Naruto stood back up, creating another clone. "What's that clone for?" Sakura asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That clone is to fight you, while I fight Shikamaru. The clone has enough of my chakra to survive long enough against you. Ready?" Naruto's lips curved up into a smirk as Shikamaru stood opposite of him, studying him. "It's no use, Shikamaru. Studying me won't work that well, considering on how I'm not really giving anything away, now am I?"

Shikamaru scowled, realizing he was right. He sighed, pulling out an exploding tag followed by a kunai as he muttered, "Troublesome." He threw the kunai first, watching Naruto tilt his head to the side to dodge, before Shikamaru threw the exploding tag to the ground near his feet. Shikamaru rushed him, darting from behind as Naruto jumped up into the air to dodge the explosion. Shikamaru slammed his fist into Naruto's back, the blonde falling into the ground before he rolled into his feet. Shikamaru landed, throwing a few punches as Naruto blocked and countered with a few strikes of his own. Shikamaru's limber body allowed him to weave in and out of the punches, his fist slamming into Naruto's face.

Naruto leaned back, wiping blood off his lip. He smirked, charging as he created several clones to attack Shikamaru. They did their job, proving as a distraction while the real Naruto slammed his foot into Shikamaru's head, sending the lazy genius tumbling to the ground. Two clones picked Shikamaru up, before the pre-teen backflipped and sent the clones vanishing. He narrowed his eyes, quickly performing a handsign as he called out, "Shadow technique: Shadow Possession Jutsu!" His shadow outstretched towards Naruto, the blonde having no way to react as he was currently landing. The shadow connected, a triumphant smirk on Shikamaru's face, "Shadow Possession Jutsu a success."

"Alright alright, you won. Can you let me go now?" Naruto gritted out, eye twitching at being beat. Shikamaru released the jutsu, looking over to see Sakura dispelling the clone. They took another break, relaxing as they got a bite to eat. Their stomachs full and their training complete for the day, they all went their separate ways. "Hey Sakura, c'mon. Let's go check out this weapon store I found the other day. The owner doesn't hate me like most of the pompous villagers, so we should be okay."

"Why do the villagers hate you, Naruto?" Sakura asked, her curiosity peaked.

"That, my dear, will remain a secret. For now okay? You'll know someday." Came the reply, effectively ending the topic at hand. They traveled to the poorer part of town, before entering a shop called '_Kyo's weapons and wears.' _Naruto opened the door, holding it open for Sakura. "Hey Kyo, you here?"

"Yes Naruto, I'm here." Came the elderly reply as an old man hobbled into view. His eyes lit up, spotting the young blonde. "Ah, nice to see you again Naruto. And who's this? Your girlfriend?"

"Uh, well.." Naruto stammered, blushing red as Kyo chuckled.

"You can't fool an old man like me! I know she is. She just has that glow to her, sonny boy! So, miss, what is your name?" Kyo asked, holding out his hand, "My name is Kyo, and I'm the owner of this fine weapon shop."

"My name is Sakura Haruno, and yes, I am Naruto's girlfriend." She smiled sweetly, looking at Naruto with a slight sense of wanting to be accepted as such. Naruto's smile that suddenly hit his face made her smile bigger.

"Well, how can I help you today?" Kyo asked, watching the two.

"I'm here to get whatever she wants, and I was wondering if you had anything that would fit my fighting style." Naruto answered, before pushing Sakura towards the weapons. "Go on Sakura, pick out what you want and I'll get it for you." She looked uncertain, but Naruto's smile encouraged her to go with the flow. Sakura went over to browse the various weapons while Kyo turned to Naruto.

"Isn't your fighting style brash and hotheaded?" Kyo poked fun at Naruto, knowing the radical change he had gone through within the past few days. "Just kidding Naruto, yes I have something for you don't worry." He shuffled to the back of the store, where the movement of objects and his muttering was heard. He came back out a few minutes later with a single box. He opened it revealing trench knives like Asuma-Sensei used, a smirk on his face. "I figured you could use these. You like close quarter combat, and you like knives, so why not give you these?"

Naruto looked over to see Sakura admiring some daggers and senbon needles. He decided he would get them for her, as he nodded, "Sure, I'll take them. Sakura, find out what you want yet?" Sakura nodded, coming up to the two with the daggers and needles. "What are the needles for?" Naruto questioned, not really knowing what they could do in combat.

"Well Naruto, those needles are for assassination type kills, especially if you're wanting to dispose of the enemy quietly. Iruka mentioned something about the various types of weapons in class once." Sakura said as if Naruto was supposed to know that. In a way, he supposed he was.

Naruto pulled out his wallet, but Kyo stopped him, "No Naruto. Stop and put your wallet away. You don't have to pay. Your money isn't needed here. I appreciate all you have done for me in the past, and any purchase you make here is free. If your weapon becomes damaged or broken come back and I'll repair it. Now off you go, and you two have a good night." Kyo smiled as he sacked up the weapons. Sakura and Naruto had no time to protest as they were ushered out the store.

"Hey Naruto?" Sakura asked, gazing at him as they got to the apartment. Seeing she had his attention, she coughed slightly. "Well um...when Kyo-San said I was your girlfriend, and I said it as well, you didn't disagree? Were you just going along with it, or were you agreeing?"

Naruto set down the weapons as he approached her slowly. He gazed into her eyes, and she looked at him, a blush on her face. He hesitantly reached up with a shaky hand, brushing the hair out of her face as he cupped her cheek, pulling her to his body. Her face heated up with a blush as she gave her first kiss away, their lips connecting. The kiss deepened, Naruto's tongue sliding out to brush her bottom lip. She opened them slightly, as their tongues met and clashed. Saliva mixed as the other tried to gain dominance over the opposite. She gave in, allowing him to win before they broke apart for some much needed oxygen. "Does that answer your question, Sakura?" Naruto whispered, looking at him. She leaned in, kissing him gently as Naruto smiled. "Alright, time for bed ne? You can have the bed, and I can sleep on the couch." He got up, heading for said location only for Sakura to wrap her hand around his wrist.

"Oh no mister! You are sleeping in bed with me. The bed is big enough, and the couch is for company and guests. Do not try to argue with me Naruto, you won't win." She said sternly, only for Naruto to shake his head in agreement. He felt so small under that gaze so he agreed to make sure he wasn't hurt. Sakura led them to the bedroom, as she ordered, "Close your eyes while I change." Naruto did as he was told, and Sakura changed into her pajamas. "Okay, you can change now." Naruto changed while Sakura closed her eyes, despite she wanted to peek. Naruto was only sleeping in shorts while she was in a night shirt and shorts.

Naruto laid down, with the pinkette laying beside him. She snuggled up to him, smiling as his arms wrapped around her protectively. Soon they both fell asleep, safe and secure within each others arms.

* * *

Mebuki Haruno sat in jail, sobered up and extremely angry. How dare her daughter defend the demon of Konoha! She would make sure Sakura found out the truth of the little blonde shit that was on her team. She would make sure that Sakura got so scared of him she would come rushing home to Mommy. The elder let out a sigh before she laid down for the night. The council would be holding a trial in the afternoon tomorrow, and she had to make sure she got some sleep to have enough energy to fight against the word of the demon.

Naruto awoke to someone knocking on the door. Groaning, he got out of bed as he answered the door to see an ANBU member. Bear by the looks of his mask. "Yeah?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow and yawning.

"Naruto Uzumaki? Sakura Haruno is here as well, correct?" Bear asked. Seeing Naruto nod, the ninja continued, "Alright good. The Hokage wants you two to be up there to give a statement against Mebuki Haruno in two hours. Understand?" Naruto nodded once more, as Bear disappeared. He closed the door, rubbing the back of his head before he went and woke up Sakura.

"Mm, what is it, Naruto?" Sakura asked sleepily, staring up at him through half-shut eyes.

"Well Bear-San just told me we have to be at the Hokage's tower to give a statement against your mother in two hours. So I suppose we better get ready." Sakura was up in an instant, alert and awake as she grabbed her clothes and headed to the shower. Naruto stared after her, blinking as he muttered, "All I said was suppose. I didn't say we had to right this instant." He shrugged as he began breakfast. As soon as Sakura exited her shower, Naruto gave her breakfast as he hopped in the shower .

Their stomach's full and wearing their ninja attire the two made sure they had their weapons and everything ready to go. Seeing they had an hour to kill, they watched TV for about thirty minutes before leaving the house. They arrived at the Hokage's tower at the exact time, the leader of the Leaf Village greeting them both before growing serious. "The council wants to talk to Sakura alone and then her mother. Depending on who they side with will depend on who provides the stronger case. If I had it just my way, you could continue to live with Naruto, Sakura." He led her to the council room. She hugged Naruto before she entered, the door closing behind her. "Now Naruto, I have a question for you regarding Sakura."

"What is it, jiji?" Naruto questioned.

"Well if it came down to it, would you allow Sakura to keep living with you? Would you defend her if the council calls you in there?" He asked seriously. Naruto nodded, before the Hokage smiled. "Good, I'm glad. You two are a cute couple. You guys are a couple, right?" The smile on Naruto's face gave him his answer as the Hokage chuckled, "I knew it. Looks like Iruka owes me 20 ryo."

* * *

Within the court room the council all sat lined up in one giant booth, while the judge sat upon his throne of sorts. Mebuki Haruno sat in chains at the stand as she glared daggers at Sakura. Sakura however paid her no attention as she sat down. "Sakura Haruno, you are here today to provide a statement against your mother, Mebuki Haruno. She claims to have done nothing wrong, but she threatened to reveal an SS class secret, and she was drunk. Are you willing to provide a statement against your flesh and blood?" An elderly man asked, peering down at her.

"Yes sir, I am. Just ask me any questions and I shall answer them truthfully." Sakura responded respectfully.

"Very well, let us begin. Mebuki Haruno, do you not agree with this? You were found drunk threatening your daughter by the Hokage, holding onto her wrist in a way that signified abuse?"

"Well I..." She began, only to be cut off by Sakura.

"Council, if I may interrupt for a moment?" Sakura asked. The council allowed this as Sakura went on, "That woman up there has done nothing for me except make me her personal slave. She abused me, neglected me, and forced me to do sexual acts with her to get her off in the bedroom. I have no idea what the SS class secret is, but I have a feeling it has to do with Naruto. On the night of her arrest, she called Naruto a demon. I however don't see a demon, I see Naruto Uzumaki."

"That little bitch is lying!" Screeched Mebuki, attempting to escape her restraints. She was held back by several ANBU, only to continue her verbal abuse. "Don't listen to her! That little demon has her under his spell! I knew we should have killed that brat twelve years ago, despite the Fourth's actions. His actions couldn't stop the Kyuubi No Kitsune, what makes you think a boy can stop him? The boy shall become the new Kyuubi No Kitsune, and we will all be at risk! We have to stop him! We have to stop her! We have to..." Sakura walked up to her and slapped her across the face. Mebuki's head whipped to the side, as she stood there shocked.

"Don't talk about him like that. Even if Naruto is the next Nine Tailed Fox, I will stand by him. He has done nothing but help defend me my whole life ever since I started at the academy. I was blinded by my own foolish reasons to not see that until now. I will not have you dirty up his name! Your reign of abuse is over, _mother._" She spoke the words with venom and hate in her voice, watching the life drain from Mebuki's face. "Council if we're done here, I'll be waiting as you make the verdict." The council talked about it quietly while Sakura waited and Mebuki glared at her. Sakura promised to hurt her badly if she attempted to lay a hand on her.

"Alright, we have came to a conclusion. Mebuki Haruno, for abusing your daughter and revealing the SS class secret of Naruto Uzumaki you are hereby sentenced to death. ANBU take her away. This session is adjourned. Sakura Haruno, good luck as a ninja, and I'm sorry we put you through this." The elderly man from before replied, giving her an apologetic smile.

Sakura nodded as a blank expression crossed her face, exiting the courtroom. Naruto and The Hokage were talking quietly to themselves when she walked over to them. "Well, how'd it go?" Naruto asked quietly.

"She was found guilty for abuse and releasing an SS class secret." She whispered back, looking him in the eyes. The color drained from the Hokage's and Naruto's face before Sakura cupped Naruto's cheek, kissing him gently. "No, I don't judge you or see anyone different then the boy that saved me a few days ago. I see Naruto Uzumaki, my teammate, my roommate, and my boyfriend. Do you have a problem with that?" Her voice took on a mock stern tone, before Naruto smiled.

"No, I don't have a problem with that. Not a problem at all." Naruto replied, relief in his voice. "Are we free to go, jiji?" The Hokage nodded as the two left, heading towards the training ground for their training session.

"Hopefully Sakura really means that." The old man muttered to himself, watching the two retreat. "Naruto doesn't need to be in any more pain than he's experienced."

* * *

Leave a review if you enjoyed this chapter! It really gives me feedback on how I'm doing, and what should happen next in the story! Well, Mebuki's sentenced to death, Sakura finds out about Kyuubi, and in the next chapter Naruto and the gang will be heading to wave as reinforcements.

-V


	4. Sakura and Ino's first kill

Welcome back to TDGFW and in Chapter 4, we will be seeing how Team 7 and Team 10 get along as they travel to Wave.

-V

* * *

"Alright, that's enough training for today guys. It's time to see what the Hokage has in store for us." Asuma-Sensei said, puffing on his cigarette. He released the smoke as he chuckled, watching the three breath a sigh of relief. They traveled to the Hokage's office, standing in front of him. "Hello Hokage-Sama, do you have a mission for us today?"

"In fact I do. We have catching Tora the Cat, pulling weeds, or you can..." He was interrupted by a raven flying through his window, a letter attached by its leg. He opened it, eyes scanning the page before his eyes widened. "Change of plans. You are to rush with all urgency to Wave country. Kakashi's team needs help, as they are going up against Zabuza Momochi, one of the Seven Swordsman of the Mists. Go get whatever you need from your houses, then you are to leave immediately." The seriousness in his voice made them know they weren't to fuck this up.

"Team, break!" Asuma commanded as they rushed off to their houses. Within 10 minutes they were at the gates of Konoha, on their way to Wave. "Alright, our mission is to back up Team 7 in any way we can. The Hokage didn't mention what the status was of Team 7, but we need to hurry with all haste. They left a day ago, so we have to use all of our resources to get there. I have chakra pills for each of us in my pack because we'll be using it to get to where they are now within the next 12 hours. Understand?" They all nodded, seriousness etched on their faces.

They all took off, chakra pumping towards the bottom of their feet as they rushed towards Wave country. Within five hours, they encountered no problems on the way there, taking the same barge Team 7 took the day before. Eventually they came upon the sight of Zabuza holding Kakashi captive, Ino frozen in fear, Choji unconscious and Sasuke trying to think of a plan. Before Asuma or Shikamaru could think of a plan, Naruto created several clones, rushing off into the battle. The clones quickly got Choji, Ino, and the client Tazuna out of the way before the original and several more clones formed a circle around Zabuza. "What the? Oh, reinforcements eh? Sadly, you won't be able to save anyone here. Kakashi's running out of oxygen, and as soon as he's dead, I'll be after you next."

"Sasuke, Shikamaru, Sakura, prepare whatever kunai or shuriken you have." Naruto commanded, as he and the clones did the same. "Asuma-Sensei, do we have permission to strike?" Asuma stood next to Tazuna, his trench knives raised as he nodded. "Alright, throw everything you got." Kunai and shuriken rained down upon Zabuza, who had no choice but to release Kakashi from the water prison he held him in. He jumped back only suffering a few minor cuts before he glared at Naruto. "What? Mad that you got beat by a bunch of weapons? Bring it on." Naruto said, cocky as he cracked his neck. The clones rushed Zabuza, quickly being dispelled. Naruto himself attempted to rush in the fray, only for Asuma and Kakashi to hold him back.

"Thank you for your help, Naruto. But we can handle it from here." Kakashi said, his right eye that was usually covered showing the Uchiha bloodline: The Sharingan. Naruto did as he was told, going to back up the team until he sniffed an unfamiliar source. Someone was closeby, but it wasn't Zabuza or anyone friendly. Naruto sniffed some more, his eyes flashing red for a brief moment. He turned, rushing off into the fog as he went to go find the source of the problem.

"Naruto! Where are you going you idiot!?" Ino yelled. She growled, drawing a kunai as she watched Asuma and Kakashi-Sensei fight the monster that had made her freeze.

Naruto sniffed some more, tracking the unfamiliar smell to a tree that had a vantage point of the battle, should someone be on a high enough branch. Naruto guessed that the person already knew he was coming, and his guess paid off as he jumped back to dodge several senbon needles. He narrowed his eyes, watching as a girl with long black hair dropped down, a Hunter-nin mask in her hand. "Who are you?" He questioned, creating several clones to back him up. He drew his trench knives, glaring.

"My name is of no importance. My mission is to protect Zabuza, and should you get in my way, I will be forced to eliminate you. Do not make me do so. I do not wish to shed unnecessary blood." She drew several senbon needles, observing her opponent. "You seem weak. Those clones however speak volumes of difference. They are solid instead of normal shadow clones. So this makes my previous statement void. You're obviously more powerful than I had anticipated. Who are you?"

"Answer my question first, sunshine." Naruto answered, his eyes flashing red once more as killer intent began to leek out from his figure. His opponent was unphased as her lips curved up into a smirk.

"My name is Haku. And as for your killer intent, it seems like it is...pathetic. But then of course, I could be wrong as I was wrong before." She circled him, observing him as she frowned. "Why do you fight? What do you have to live for?"

"That's simple. I fight for my loved ones and because it's my job. I think that Zabuza is important to you, yes?" Seeing her nod, Naruto continued, "Well, sorry to say, but he's going to have to go down. And if you defend him, I'm going to have to take you down as well." Naruto's eyes took on a grey tint, his bloodline activated. Haku rushed him, throwing several senbon needles towards him, before she aimed strikes towards his midsection. Naruto moved his hands around, deflecting the needles as he accepted the blows. He backflipped away, the clones rushing her. She quickly kicked one in the face, before grabbing one by the throat and snapped it's neck. The clones dispersed, while Naruto stood back up, smirking. "I love a good fight. This is going to be interesting."

The two stood opposite of each other, never backing down. Haku heard Zabuza let out a grunt of pain and went to intercept, only for Naruto to slam his knee into her gut. She doubled over, attempting to recover only for Naruto to slam his knee into her face repeatedly. She groaned, pushing herself away as she jumped up into the air, heading towards her beloved Zabuza. She felt two hands grab onto her feet before she was slammed into the ground. She rolled to her feet, only for Naruto's hand to engulf her face, her body being slammed into a tree. The strength of one half of a tail was at his disposal, as Naruto pushed her halfway into the tree. Haku let out a low groan, blood filling her mouth. She coughed, gazing up at him through half-shut eyes. "What...what are you?" She whispered to herself, watching Naruto's eyes turn blood red, his whiskers darkening.

"Me? I'm the nightmare that plagued everyone's dreams of Konoha 12 years ago. I'm the Kyuubi No Kitsune, and I am your demise. Say goodbye." Naruto raised a clawed hand, rushing towards Haku who got out of the way with the substitution technique. Naruto growled, watching his hand go through the log. Hearing the sound of running feet from behind him and closing in, he quickly created a clone to intercept the attack. The clone let out a scream of pain as it was stabbed through, the needle slamming into Naruto's shoulder. He grunted, trying to get away. The needle left his shoulder, quickly stabbing him in the other shoulder, before he dropped to the ground, kicking Haku's feet out from underneath her. "You stupid bitch." He grunted, as he tore the needle out from his shoulder. He gripped it tightly, as he kicked Haku in the face, watching her roll to the right. She was stunned and now was the perfect time to move in for the kill. He watched as the female got up and stumbled to her feet.

"What the fuck...what..." She trailed off, her sense of judgement failing as darkness closed in. She fell to her knees, blood pouring out from her mouth and various cuts. She watched as Naruto walked over to her, eyes bloodred with slits in them. She felt a clawed hand wrap around her neck, lifting her up in the air.

"You fought well, Haku. Sadly you were fighting for the wrong side. Maybe in another life, we could've been friends or even more." Naruto spoke, his arm twisting her neck, effectively breaking it. He dropped the now lifeless body, his hand going down as his fingers brushed across her eyes, closing them forever. He let out a groan, thinking, '_Kyuubi, don't heal the cuts. Unless they are life threatening and I need it, let Sakura take care of them. They'll build up my pain tolerance anyways.' _Without another thought, he walked back towards the others to see Zabuza laying there dead, several Hunter-nin taking care of the mess. Seeing Sakura and his team waiting for him, he walked over.

"Where were you at when all of this was occurring?" Asuma-Sensei demanded, eyes narrowed. Seeing blood drip down behind his feet, he grew concerned. "Naruto?"

"I'm fine. I was dealing with Zabuza's accomplice and she managed to stab me twice. No big deal. Regardless, she's dealt with and won't be a problem. What about Team 7?"

"They are already heading to Tazuna's house. We are to accompany them and make sure they carry out the mission correctly. According to Ino, there's another threat besides Zabuza. One known as Gatou, a millionaire who is suspected to dabble in drug dealing, and prostitution. You guys better keep your head up and be alert. We'll get you looked at when we get to Tazuna's, if you can hold out that long?" He hated to say it, but they had to move. Naruto nodded and together they left for Tazuna's house, not noticing the pair of eyes watching Naruto's retreating figure.

They arrived at Tazuna's house, with Tsunami and Sakura rushing Naruto off into another room, taking off his shirt hearing the two women gasp. "How bad?" Naruto questioned, growling out slightly as he felt the sting of antibiotic alcohol.

"Be lucky that your special bloodline allowed your cuts to heal them somewhat already." Sakura scolded, realizing that the fox was to thank for his wounds healing at the slow rate. She frowned slightly, before nodding to Tsunami, "I can handle it from here." The elder woman left, leaving the two alone. "So, Naruto, who stabbed you?"

"Haku, Zabuza's accomplice. She had similar needles to the ones you have, Sakura. Suffice to say, she stabbed me twice before I was able to kill her." He felt her froze slightly, "What? Would you have rather me let her live and give her the chance to kill me? Or you? I defended us. I could give two shits less about anyone else in that village, but you are important to me. I suppose Shikamaru is as well, but even so. I killed her to protect you." He stood by what he had done, and he didn't regret it.

Sakura leaned over his face, gazing into his eyes. She pressed her lips softly up against hers, cupping his face. "I'm glad you defended me, Naruto. I do not care if you are a demon or not, you're mine and that's what matters. I haven't done it yet, but if I have to, I will gladly kill for you. I honestly dislike most of the people at the village and wouldn't mind seeing them suffer for what they've done to me." Her voice took on a malicious tone, her eyes darkening considerably from their normally vibrant green. Naruto didn't mind seeing this side of her, this would make converting her to his side that much more easier.

"We'll sort that out all in due time. For now, let's go check on the others." Naruto got up wincing slightly as they exited the room. Noticing Asuma-Sensei and Shikamaru he walked over to them. "So are we done? What are we to do now?"

"Well Naruto, now we wait for Tazuna to finish his bridge, then we can all go home. Kakashi is asleep from chakra exhaustion, and he will probably be out for a few days. You are also getting a few looks from two members from Team 7." Asuma nodded to the other side of the room. Naruto turned to see Ino looking at him with curiosity, interest and awe. Sasuke, however, was looking at him with malice and hate. The Uchiha couldn't figure out how he just swooped in and managed to turn the tides while his team was struggling. It wasn't fair, and he hated it. He figured himself to be better than almost everyone who was in the academy. How did the deadlast manage to pass?

"Ah, just forget about him, Naruto." Shikamaru drawled out, "C'mon, supper's here and we better be ready to help Tazuna finish his bridge so we can go home." As always, Shikamaru cared about going home. He knew the mission was his main priority, but the team was there was back up. With Kakashi out of the game for the mean time, that meant Asuma had to step in and act as the sensei for both teams, much to Team 10's chargin.

They all sat down, with Inari glaring at the ninja. "You all are going to fail you know. No one can survive against Gatou. No one!"

"What's your problem, kid?" Naruto spoke up, raising an eyebrow.

"I lost my dad to Gatou. He was the strongest one around, and if he can't defeat Gatou, what chance do you guys have? You're going to fail. You all..." he searched for the words, "You all are pathetic."

"Well, be that as it may kid, we're going to take him down. We were assigned to protect your grandfather and that's what we're going to do. Sorry to hear that your father passed away, but there's no reason to mope around in the past. Stand up for what you believe in, stand proud and tall, and prepare to kick Gatou's ass. That's what your father did, and who's to say that he didn't get close to taking him down? I'm sure he took down as many as he could." Naruto said gently, gazing over at the boy. He could see the same loneliness and sadness that used to occupy his eyes. He wouldn't feel any sympathy or compassion for the kid, simply because he never got any when he was growing up. "The best thing you can do for your father is to protect your family, alright? Thank you for the dinner, Ma'am." He got up, heading towards the door.

"Where are you going, Uzumaki?" Sasuke's voice reached his ears, the arrogance dripping off his tongue.

"I'm going to train. Enjoy your meal." Naruto replied as he exited, closing the door behind him. Descending the porch, the blonde went towards the forest beside the house, his mind made up. He would help destroy Gatou. Not for Tazuna, or because the mission might call for it. He would destroy Gatou for Inari, and to ensure that the boy wouldn't have to go through that kind of trauma again. A smirk crossed his face as he began to train, allowing the rest of the occupants to continue their meal in confused silence.

The next day, Asuma-Sensei woke up everyone taking them outside to the forest. "Alright guys, we're here to train. We're here to ensure that none of us will screw up should an attack happen. Since Kakashi-Sensei is out, I will have to teach you guys the technique of tree climbing. You do this like so." The teacher of Team 10 started to climb up the tree, walking up to a branch as he hung upside down, looking down at the kids. "I want you all to practice until you succeed. Understand?"

The pre-teens got to work, Naruto and Sasuke making it up about halfway to the tree before pushing off due to the chakra being pushed too much into their feet. Choji and Shikamaru got a little farther than they did, before having the same problem. Sakura and Ino, having the smallest chakra reserves and nearly perfect chakra control, easily made it to the top, celebrating in their victories against the others.

"Good job you two. See? They have nearly perfect chakra control, now if you ask nicely, I'm sure they can teach you. I'm going to the bridge with Tazuna and some of Naruto's clones." Asuma gave a smile as he walked off to the bridge and began to help.

"How the hell did you do that?" Shikamaru looked up into the tree as he gazed at the two females.

"Well, it's easy." Ino started.

"All you have to do is find the perfect amount of chakra into your feet." Sakura continued.

"And you'll climb to the top like we did." They finished in unison.

"Right...well. Time to get to work." Naruto remarked as he continued his task. Sasuke, not wanting to be outdone quickly climbed the tree, marking his place with a kunai before he was pushed off. Shikamaru and Choji eventually got it, finding the right balance as the two girls said before. The four watched as Sasuke and Naruto tried and tried again, almost making it to the top before falling back to the ground. "Damn it!" Naruto swore, growling as he wiped sweat off his brow.

"I'm having the same problem as you, Uzumaki. Even though I hate to admit it." Sasuke said as he gazed over at the blonde.

"Get the stick out of your ass, Sasuke. You're not better than everyone in the village. Just because your family died, doesn't mean you have to be all emo and hating everyone at the village." He hit a nerve, watching as the Uchiha clenched his fists. "Yeah, that's right. I said it. Quit. Being. An asshole. Get the stick out of your ass. What are you going to do about it?"

Sasuke glared over at Naruto, as he opened his mouth to reply. Naruto held up his hand.

"No. Shut the fuck up. Whatever speech you have planned about how you deserve to be trained by the best, or how you're better than everyone, or how you have the hardest life is not needed here. You do NOT have the hardest life, you do NOt deserved to be trained by the best, and you are definitely NOT better than everyone else." Sasuke was taken aback from Naruto's cold tone and the look of hatred in his eyes. He had never seen Uzumaki like this, and it made him shiver slightly. Naruto turned back to the tree, as he began walking slowly up the base. He eventually made it to the top with slow steps, as he held his place on the tree for a few minutes before dropping to the bottom. "Have fun training in the dark." Naruto walked back towards the house, the sun slowly setting as dusk approached.

"What the hell was that?" Ino asked, looking at Naruto's retreating back.

"Let's just say Naruto doesn't have soft spots for people who think they deserve everything handed to them on a silver platter." Sakura replied.

"There's no need for him to be mean to Sasuke. I'm sure Naruto hasn't had it that rough, has he?" Ino asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Sakura took a step forward, only for Shikamaru to hold her back.

"Forget it, Sakura. She's not worth it. We'll catch you later, Choji." The two went back into the house, leaving the three members of Team 7 confused and perplexed as to what just occurred.

Shikamaru retired to his room, while Sakura walked over to Asuma, "Have you seen Naruto?"

"Yeah, he went up to his room looking a wee bit pissed. What's up?" Asuma replied, looking at his student.

"Just some drama, Asuma-Sensei. Thanks." She waved her thanks as she walked upstairs to his room, knocking on the door. "Naruto? It's me. Can I come in?" She heard some mumble from her boyfriend and entered. She gasped, seeing Naruto emitting a red and grey chakra, his shirt off as a spiral marking appeared on his naval. He turned, revealing bloodred eyes tinted with grey, the whiskers on his marks darker than usual and his fingernails turned into claws. A hand rose to her mouth, her eyes wide as she took a shaky step forward. "N..Naruto?"

He cocked his head to the side, studying the female. He stood completely still as her trembling hand reached out to touch his face, cupping his cheek. **"Are you not scared?" **He asked, his voice deeper than normal. The chakra surrounding him fluctuated briefly, encasing her in it as well. She shook her head, confusing Naruto. **"Why not?"**

"I told you before, demon or not, you're mine and I'm sticking with you until the end. That, and this is fascinating really. What all does the fox do for you?"

Naruto's features faded away, the seal on his naval disappearing as well. His hair remained slightly more unruly than it had been, and his canines were longer than normal. "Enhanced reflexes, strength, enhanced senses, and I'm slowly becoming the new Kyuubi No Kitsune. I have one half the strength of one tail, and the other half will come within the next few weeks I believe, according to the fox. Apparently I can give you some of the power as well but it appears that it will have to wait until you're at least fifteen or sixteen. Dunno why." He shrugged, letting out a yawn. "I'm tired, Sakura. Staying up focusing my chakra into my body drains me. Wanna sleep here tonight?" She smiled gently, pushing him down onto his mat as she curled up next to him. His arms wrapped around her securely, as he kissed her forehead. "G'night, Sakura." She felt his heart beating from within his chest, as it moved up and down rhythmically, as he slowly fell asleep.

She was snuggled up within his arms, soon asleep with her partner. Asuma saw the door opened slightly, peeking in on the sight. A smile crossed his face as he chuckled, "Goodnight gakis." He turned and closed the door, only to see Sasuke standing there out of breath and panting heavily. "What happened to you?"

"I finally completed the exercise." With that being said, the Uchiha went into his room as he closed the door, exhausted.

"So he finished last? I would have thought Naruto and he would have finished at the same time. Weird." He scratched his beard, before retiring to bed as well, the house settling for another day to dawn.

Meanwhile in Gatou's hideout, the millionaire drug smuggling, prostitution pimp sat in his leather chair, gazing into the fire. According to his sources in Wave, two teams of ninja from Konoha had disposed of Zabuza and Haku. They were the best he had. Sure, he had lots of men that could easily take care of the people, but the ninja were another problem. The two females could possibly be captured and put into prostitution while the men had their way with them. His grubby little fingers twirled his mustache. "Hidiki, Shizuno, come here!" Two men entered the room, awaiting orders. "You are to go to Wave, find the two females and bring them here. IF you succeed, you two can have the first round with them. Break them in, so to speak." A perverted grin crossed his features, watching as the men ran off, heading towards Wave.

* * *

The two men stood outside of Tazuna's house, clubs in their hands. They figured the ninja were inside, so they had to be careful. Hidiki climbed up a tree, jumping onto the roof, opening the closest window. Seeing a flash of pink shining in the moonlight, he grinned. He entered the room, stepping in quietly as he tried not to wake the female. He however failed to notice the other body sleeping beside her, his ears twitching as the sleeping blonde began to stir. Naruto acted like he was asleep, tensing his body for the time to strike. He didn't know who the intruder was, but there was another male outside the house, going around towards Ino's room.

Hidiki reached down, quickly grabbing Sakura by the hair, his other hand clamping down onto her mouth to silence her. "Shut the fuck up bitch. Just shut the fuck up and you won't be harmed...much." His hand left her hair, roaming down towards her ass. It didn't get far before Sakura quickly bit down onto his hand, forcing him to release her. "Argh, you fuckin' whore!" He swore, his hand rushing towards her face. Sakura easily blocked the fist, slamming her knee into his groin repeatedly. The male groaned, dropping to his knees before Naruto arose, his eyes bloodred as he gazed at the male. "What the fuck are you?!"

"Oh him? He's my boyfriend, and you shouldn't have fucked with me. Naruto, go check on Ino, I have this piece of filth." Naruto left, allowing Sakura to draw her needles, quickly slamming her foot into his face. The male fell backwards, feeling the needles impale themselves into his shoulders. She quickly slammed the third into the male's groin. Hidoki let out a quiet scream of agony, keeping quiet as Sakura's pillow covered his face. Having no way to move, pain throbbing throughout his body, Hidoki was struggling to get up, only for his life force to slip away. Sakura looked down, feeling his heartbeat slow down and continue to slow down, until nothing remained. The heartbeat had stopped, as Sakura got up without a backwards glance. She left the room, rushing towards Ino's room only to see Ino shaking with fear. A kunai was gripped tightly within her hand, blood gleaming on the blade. Her green eyes were welling up with tears, as she let out a shaky sob. Her body was wracked with more and more sobs, as she continued to gaze at the man who's throat was slashed, the body slumped up against the wall. "Ino? Where's Naruto?"

"He...he..." She never finished as she continued to sob and wail. She dropped to her knees, the kunai clattering to the ground. Ino had just killed and the event would have some trauma on her. Sakura wrapped her into her arms, rocking Ino back and forth as she consoled her. Ino soon fell asleep within her arms, as Sakura looked up to see Asuma, trench knives at the ready.

"What happened?" He asked, completely serious.

"I would assume that these men are Gatou's thugs sent here to take me and Ino. I dealt with the one in Naruto's room, while Ino killed this one. She is shaken up about it, and I would advise she stay here for the remainder of the mission. However, there is no sign of Naruto. I sent him to Ino's room to see how she was doing, but he wasn't here when I arrived. I hope that the blonde gaki didn't go off to find Gatou's hideout." She let out a sigh, getting up as she let out a yawn. "I'm going to dispose of the body in Naruto's room so it can be appropriate to sleep in once more."

Entering Naruto's room, her green eyes fell onto the sight of Naruto throwing the body out the window. He turned, looking at her. "How's Ino?" He asked.

"She'll manage, however she's shaken up deeply. I, on the other hand am managing it very well. Ever since that incident in Konoha, I refuse to allow myself to freeze up or to get my guard down. I did not feel any remorse for killing that man. I enjoyed it." She looked at him, walking into his arms. "Does that make me normal?"

"That makes you stronger than you realize, Sakura. That also makes you more compatible to the more darker side of me. I'm glad." He kissed her forehead, a single thought running through his head. '_How long is it going to take to get the bridge complete? I'm tired of people trying to harm my team and girlfriend.' _

* * *

__Well, Gatou almost got the drop on Sakura and Ino. Ino will go through some dramatic changes throughout the next chapters, and Sakura's change to the dark side is slowly becoming more and more noticeable. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.

-V


	5. Making Out on the Bloody Floor Yum

I own nothing of Naruto. Naruto characters and anything Naruto belong to Kishimoto. Story stats are this: 56 reviews, 132 followers, 105 favorites, 1 community, and 7,798 views traffic graph since publishing it on 8/13/13. I appreciate all that you guys have done for me, and you all keep inspiring me to write. So, thank you. Thank you. *Bows*

-V

* * *

The next day after the break-in from Gatou's thugs, Asuma wanted to know what happened. Naruto and Sakura told him, while Kakashi-Sensei had finally woke up from his long sleep. Asuma told him what had occurred since he was out, and Kakashi was furious. Furious that he was out of the game for so long, furious at how their first kill had to happen, and furious that Gatou managed to attack them within the clients own home. "Alright then. That does it. Asuma, I have a plan. I want you and your team to try to go to Gatou's hideout and take them out. I know that the Hokage wants us to protect the client, and that's what we'll do. But he never said what your team had to do. If you do not want to, and you want to wait for them to strike, I understand. However, something needs to be done."

Asuma lit a cigarette, inhaling as he blew out the smoke. "I understand your anger, Kakashi. And you are right. We can go find Gatou, if we wanted to. I'll talk to the team about it and see. Knowing Naruto, he'll want to, and Sakura and Shikamaru just sort of follow in his footsteps. He's the leader of the three, while I'm just the teacher. Naruto will probably leave shadow clones to guard the house and the bridge and help out, so you can take it somewhat easy. We'll tell you what we plan within the next hour." He opened the door to reveal Naruto leaning up against the wall, his arms crossed. Sakura and Shikamaru stood beside him, looking up at Asuma.

"You must be blind if you think we're not going to go after Gatou after what he pulled here last night." Naruto said, tying his headband around his arm.

"Yeah, I mean this is inexcusable and deserves to have justice taken." Shikamaru said lazily, gazing into his sensei's eyes.

"You already know how I feel about this, Sensei." Sakura said, her eyes blazing with the inferno of hatred and revenge.

"Alright then, Kakashi. I assume you know what we're going to do now. We'll hopefully be back within the next two days." Asuma said, grabbing everything he needed. "Are you all ready?" He looked at his team, seeing that Naruto had his kunai pouch, trench knives and exploding tags. Sakura put her hair up into a ponytail, her kunai pouch strapped to her thigh. Shikamaru let out a yawn, signifying he was ready.

The team quickly left the house, with Naruto leading the group, his nose picking up the scents of the men that occupied the house the night before. "This way." Naruto said, jumping up into the trees, heading West of Tazuna's house. The scent increased the farther they got away, delving into the forest a few miles outside of the Village of Wave. They landed outside the perimeter of a mansion, which seemed a bit cliche for Gatou.

"This it, Naruto?" Asuma asked, narrowing his eyes.

"You tell me Sensei. A mansion out in the forest, surrounded by guards and dogs, and that doesn't scream Gatou to you?" Naruto asked, a bit of an attitude to his voice.

Asuma disregarded the attitude, feeling a bit angry himself. "Alright, fair enough. I want you and Shikamaru to try to find a way around. Actually, better yet, make some clones to do so, to precaution ourselves. We don't need any of us getting caught."

"Alright." Naruto responded, creating three groups of clones. "Group 1, find a way inside. Group 2, find where Gatou's at. Finally, Group 3, I want you to keep Group's 1 and 2 safe while they do this. Dispell yourselves so I can get the information when you're done." The clones rushed off, and the team began to wait. After thirty minutes of waiting, Asuma looked at Naruto, who was sitting on a limb with his eyes closed.

"Naruto? You awake?" Asuma whispered.

"Yes, Sensei, I'm awake. Just meditating. Don't worry, I'm...Shit." Naruto's eyes snapped open, as he became fully alert.

"The clones?" Asuma asked.

"Yep. They know where Gatou is, except he knows we're here. So, we're not going to be able to do this stealthily. It's either go in with a full frontal attack, or not at all." Naruto answered, as he narrowed his eyes. He sniffed the nervousness of his teammates, and the fear of several men down below. They were scared that they were going to be attacked. He let a small, dark grin cross his face. "Actually, I have a plan. It involves the clones again. However, Shikamaru and Asuma-Sensei, you have to head back a little bit. Just a few trees away. Trust me." He gazed into their eyes, and while Asuma-Sensei trusted him, he didn't want his student getting hurt.

He let out a sigh, "I'm giving you 30 minutes to execute your plan." He and Shikamaru traveled at least five trees away, while Sakura gazed over at Naruto.

"It involves the fox, right?" She whispered.

Naruto nodded, creating ten to fifteen clones, as he chuckled, the Kyuubi's chakra surging outwards, surely reaching Asuma and Shikamaru's location. The clones became empowered with the chakra of the nine tailed fox. Naruto looked at them, as he grinned darkly. "Have at 'em boys."

The clones let out a war cry, rushing into the compound. Sounds of yells and terror filled the air, while a few thugs tried to escape. Due to how many clones there were, Gatou's forces were overwhelmed. Asuma-Sensei heard the screams and the smell of death filling the air. He narrowed his eyes, also feeling the Kyuubi's chakra. _'What is the fox's chakra doing out in the open? Naruto hasn't lost control, has he? Surely not, otherwise Sakura might have been a risk as well. Is there something Naruto isn't telling me? Ugh, this just got a lot more confusing. I'll have to speak to my father about this.' _

"Sensei...I...it's getting hard to breath." Shikamaru muttered, sweat trailing down his face.

Asuma turned to his other student, realizing that the killer intent being released was a bit much for him. Trusting in Naruto to keep the fox under control and Sakura safe, grabbed Shikamaru's shoulder. "Alright, we'll head back a little bit further. Come on."

"But Naruto...and Sakura." He wheezed out.

"They'll be fine. I trust in Naruto and his plan. Come on." Asuma pressed, urging Shikamaru to get away from the area. Shikamaru began to head back, Asuma giving a long look back towards the compound before he followed suit.

Naruto had a cloak of red chakra around him once more, Sakura around his arm. The cloak was around her because of her contact with Naruto, and the power that she felt coursing through her body was making her hungry for more. She drew a kunai, quickly throwing it into the skull of a random thug who was trying to crawl to safety. She stepped over the body, gazing around at the bloodshed and chaos. She let a smile cross her face, kissing Naruto on the cheek. "Come on, love, let's go give Gatou a visit, in return for the visit he gave us last night."

Naruto didn't reply, relishing in the screams and smell of blood making him wanting to kill some things. He dispelled the clones, grinning, **"The thugs are dead. Gatou and two thugs remain in his office. Shall we?" **The couple traveled throughout the house, enjoying the blood and gore that caked the walls and floor. Naruto scraped a clawed hand along the wall, grabbing some entrails as he kicked open the door to Gatou's office. **"Honey, we're home!" **He used the entrails as a whip, wrapping them around the neck of a thug and pulling. He quickly stomped several times on the thugs head, hearing the skull crack underneath. The thug dealt with, Naruto let out a yawn as the other rushed towards him.

Sakura, however intercepted the attack as she quickly slid between the thugs legs, the blade of her kunai being impaled through the guys testicles and dick. Naruto let out a wince at this, feeling some sympathy for the guy. The thug dropped to his back, screaming in agony. Sakura kicked him within the ribs, standing on his chest. "Get a good look, pervert. You and your boss are going to suffer for what you've done to girls my age. Hell, to girls in general. I hate rapists more than thieves or mercenaries. There is nothing more disgusting than being forced upon by someone else, unable to defend yourself and having to be forced into prostitution. Too bad you didn't quit while you were ahead. Now you have to die." She leaned down, forcing the kunai in deeper with her knee before she stabbed the senbon needles within the males eyes. The male let out a strangled groan, coughing up blood before dying.

"You fuckin' bitch!" Gatou yelled, even though inside he was scared shitless. First there were the normal looking clones that had found him, then the demonic looking ones that had literally killed everyone within the compound except for him and the two thugs, then there was the original demon and what would be his girlfriend. He drew his cane, rushing the female as fast as his short, stubby legs would carry him.

**"Oh please swine. Make me laugh some more, why don't you?" **Naruto appeared in front of him, punching him in the face. Gatou landed on his ass, quite unceremoniously, while Sakura stood beside Naruto, the needles gripped within her hands. **"Let's finish this, babe." **His clawed hand gripped onto her wrist, her own hand transforming in front of her eyes. The fingernails became claws, growing to the same length Naruto's was. A dark smirk crossed her face, and together they plunged their hands within Gatou's chest, before ripping out his heart. They didn't stop there, as they continued to rip out vital organs, his blood filling the air and being splattered on their bodies and the floor. Their gruesome task done, Naruto's chakra faded away, his inner demon going back for now. He turned to Sakura, a grin on his face.

"What is it?" She asked, cocking her head to the side. "Do I have something on my face?" She giggled at her joke, feeling the stickiness of the blood. Naruto leaned forward, wiping the blood from her face as best he could, his lips connecting with hers. She deepened the kiss, her tongue escaping her mouth to taste the sweet coppery sensation of blood. This aroused her slightly, as she pressed Naruto down to the ground. Naruto let out a growl, rolling her over so that he was on top. They continued their make out session, their tongues and saliva mixing as they stayed down within the blood drenched floor. Eventually they got up, not wanting to go too far just yet. She leaned into his arms, as she yawned, "Can we go home, Naruto? I'm tired."

Naruto chuckled, carrying her home. He traveled through the trees, seeing his beautiful cherry blossom asleep within his arms by the time he arrived at Tazuna's house. Walking up the steps, he walked inside to receive looks of shock and wide round eyes from everyone in the room. Raising an eyebrow, he spoke. "Is there something on my face?" Everyone in the room fell onto their heads in a somewhat comical fashion.

"What do you mean is there something on your face?! You're caked in blood, you and her both!" Ino yelled, her eyebrow twitching, her eyes round once more.

"Relax, Ino. We're both fine. We just had a few pressing matters to discuss with Gatou about. Needless to say, a fight broke out and this happened." Came the short reply. "Now if you excuse me, I'm taking Sakura to bed, before retiring myself. We're exhausted." The occupants of the room watched the blonde carry him and the female up to his room, closing the door behind him.

"What...what the fuck was that?" Sasuke asked, breaking the ice in a non-typical Uchiha matter. He for one, was shocked and visibly confused as to what they were doing when they 'talked' to Gatou.

"I don't know, Sasuke. I don't know." Kakashi replied, a small sweat drop forming on his head as he began to think.

Asuma and Shikamaru gazed at each other, muttering, "Troublesome."

Whenever it involved Naruto and an opposing faction, it was most likely going to be troublesome.

* * *

The completion of the bridge went without a hitch with the threat of Gatou finally being lifted from over the Village of Wave. In honor of the blonde headed ninja that took care of Gatou, Tazuna renamed the bridge 'The Great Naruto Bridge'. The ninjas from Konoha left the Village of Wave, making the trek back towards home, their mission complete.

Arriving back in Konoha two days later, Asuma and Kakashi turned to their teams, "Alright guys, we're going to see the Hokage and tell him of the mission details. You all can go on home and relax. You've earned it." Asuma said, a cigarette in his mouth.

"We'll give you your payment tomorrow." Kakashi included, the two Jonin shunshining away, leaving the kids alone.

"So...what now?" Shikamaru asked, gazing at his teammates. Team 7 was heading off toward their homes, while Shikamaru let out a sigh, "So much for bonding with other teams. What about you and Sakura, Naruto?" He turned, gazing at the retreating backs of his friends. "Okay then, screw you guys then. I'm going home. I think a nap is calling me." As if on cue, he let out a yawn.

The Hokage leaned forward, his pipe hanging out of his mouth slightly. He puffed on it, gazing at the two in front of him, "So what exactly happened after you caught up to Team 7, Asuma-Sensei?"

"We engaged in combat with Zabuza Momochi, with Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and Shikamaru throwing various weapons at him. As soon as Zabuza released Kakashi, he and I fought against him. However, Naruto, I guessed sensed someone and went to investigate. Zabuza apparently had an accomplice, whom Naruto defeated after suffering two stab wounds within his shoulders. The fox sped up the healing process, but at a slower rate than usual. To that, I have no idea why. However, Kakashi fell to chakra exhaustion, and we stayed at Tazuna's for the remainder of the mission. The next four days passed with me training Team 10 and Team 7. I taught them tree climbing, and we helped Tazuna build the bridge. On the night before Kakashi woke up, we were infiltrated by Gatou's thugs, whom I believe had the intent to sell Sakura and Ino into prostitution. They were forced to kill their assailants, while Naruto rushed to wake me up. By the time I heard his feet rushing toward me, I was up in an instant. However, when I got to Ino's room, she was there sobbing with a kunai in her hand. Sakura was not affected by her kill, but Ino on the other hand was. She has become more distant and withdrawn, closing herself off from her team, as Kakashi and I have noticed. The next day, Kakashi suggested we go find Gatou, which we did."

The Hokage gazed over at Kakashi, who gazed back. Smoke escaped his mouth along with a sigh, "Continue, Asuma-Sensei."

"Arriving at the compound, Naruto sent off three groups of clones to find Gatou. They succeeded in their mission, however the alarm was raised. Naruto apparently had another plan, as he sent me and Shikamaru away to a few trees behind. A few moments later, I felt the chilling sensation of the Kyuubi's chakra, and the screams from the thugs being slaughtered filled the air. It was apparently a massacre, and Gatou was dealt with by Naruto and Sakura. They came back thirty minutes later drenched in blood. Sakura was asleep within Naruto's arms, with the rest of us questioning what happened. Naruto gave no answer, as he retired to his room with Sakura. Why was the Kyuubi's chakra felt? Is the fox getting stronger to being released? What's going on?"

The Hokage set his pipe down, smoke rising into the air as he rubbed his temples. "I had hoped not to tell you just yet, but I have no choice. The night Naruto took the Forbidden Scroll, for the fake make up test, Mizuki told him of the fox. The revelation shattered him, transforming him in that very instant. While the outward change may be less than noticable, I'm sure that inside Naruto is hellbent on revenge for what the villagers have done to him. He told me that night that he would be showing two sides of himself. To friends and loved ones, he would be Naruto Uzumaki. To villagers and enemies, he would be the Kyuubi No Kitsune. I'm sure without a doubt that the fox and he are merging. As to how fast this merging process is occurring, I have no idea. However, he is not a threat to any Leaf ninja."

Kakashi decided to intervene, having a small amount of hatred for the fox. He had no ill will against Naruto, but only for the demon inside of him. "Lord Hokage, with all due respect, shouldn't we keep Naruto in containment? It is nothing against Naruto, for he is a remarkable ninja, especially for having just graduated from the academy. However, if the fox and he are merging, that makes him an unstable ninja, and a threat to the villagers. If what you said is true, then he will try to lash out at the villagers, would he not?"

The Hokage narrowed his eyes, keeping calm as he replied, "Kakashi, I can understand your concern. However, Naruto is not a threat. He has never harmed this village, and I'm sure that while he is angry and bloodthirsty, he will keep it in check. To be honest, he has shown no violence to anyone in the village ever since that night with the Forbidden Scroll. He has kept himself in check, and I think that being around others has helped. You know how alone he was growing up, and while you were in ANBU, I had you watching him when you could, did I not? He enjoyed your company, for you were one of the first to acknowledge him for being human, and not a demon. Are you saying that you are so hypocritical to shun him now?"

Kakashi fell silent, realizing he was right. Naruto was not a demon, but a ninja of Konoha. No matter what had happened that night, Naruto was still Naruto, in a sense. He sighed, opening his mouth to apologize.

"Don't even bother, Kakashi. Get out of my office." The Hokage commanded, glaring down at the cyclops Jonin. Kakashi shunshined out, shame coursing throughout his body. "Please, do not judge poor Naruto. And so help me Kami, if you do son, come talk to me first. Understand?" Seeing his son nod, the Hokage dismissed him. Alone in his office once more, he let a single tear fall down his cheek. "What have we done to your boy, Minato?" He shook his head, resuming his paperwork after a few minutes of thinking.

* * *

Alright, what did you think of this chapter? Naruto is slowly influencing Sakura everytime he releases the Kyuubi's chakra. Should they pass the Chunin exams? Should they fail? What do you think is going to happen next, on The Darkness Grows From Within? Find out next time! *Cue DBZ announcer like voice*

-V


	6. So Two Demons Meet

Dun dun dun! HERE IT IS, BOYS AND GIRLS! CHAPTER 6 OF TDGFW! The gang are going into the Chunin exams, and what sort of encounter will occur between Naruto and Gaara? Let's find out, shall we?! *throws a random grenade* Sorry, I've been playing GTA 5, so I'm sort of on a GTA addiction at the moment. Heh.

-V

* * *

Naruto awoke with a yawn, a weight on his chest. He gazed downwards to see the sleeping form of Sakura Haruno. He quietly lay her on the bed, as he went to begin breakfast. He flipped the pancakes, his roommate and girlfriend sleepily shuffling into the kitchen. He turned, a smirk on his face. "Goodmorning, sleepy head."

She looked at him with sleepy eyes, a small blush on her face as she smiled. Letting out a yawn, she stretched, "Goodmorning, Naruto." She pecked him on the cheek, as the male made the table. She sat down, Naruto pouring her some milk. He sat down, eating slowly. "Thanks for making breakfast." She said quietly, taking a bite.

"It's no problem, hun. Is it alright?" He looked at her, somewhat nervous. What if she didn't like it? What if he made it too sweet or burned it accidentally?

She gave him a wide smile, stretching her fingers out to make a five. "I give it five out of five. It's excellent." Naruto smiled, relieved as he began to eat once more. Breakfast finished, they got ready for the day. Having some time to spare, they relaxed in front of the TV, watching whatever was on. Sakura settled within his arms, smiling up at him. "What do you wanna watch?"

"It doesn't matter to me. Whatever you wanna watch." He replied, just feeling happy with spending time with her. She made his heart soar, and she made him feel safe and secure...wanted and loved. Like he wasn't a freak. His eyes drifted shut, as he began to snooze lightly. Sakura gazed upwards, smiling softly at her boyfriend. Her lips pressed against his lightly, as she allowed him to sleep, watching whatever was on. Thirty minutes passed, with Sakura regrettably waking Naruto up. Exiting the house, they made their way to Training Ground 10, where Asuma and Shikamaru were already waiting. "Morning, Sensei and Shikamaru."

They nodded to her, while Asuma lit a cigarette. "Alright guys, the Chunin exams are coming up, and they're being held within Konoha. Do you three think you're ready? If you're not, we can wait until next year."

"Are you kidding? I know we're ready. We work well as a unit, Sensei. You train us well, and we train whenever we can to improve our skills." Naruto proclaimed loudly, still showing the loud, brash kid from the past. He coughed, scratching the back of his head nervously as Sakura glared at him, a tick mark appearing on her forehead.

"Don't be so cocky, baka!" She raised her fist, to which the blonde raised his hands in surrender.

"Settle down you two. Shikamaru, what do you think?" Asuma turned to the lazy student, who was currently looking up at the clouds.

He let out a yawn, stretching. "Naruto's right. We work well as a unit, train whenever we can, and we're ready. However, Sakura's right as well, Naruto. Don't get cocky." He looked at Asuma, who handed the three slips of paper. "Registration forms? Troublesome." They filled them out, while Asuma took them back up. Their teacher reached into his back pocket, pulling out three more slips of paper. He handed them out, to which Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Alright, I think I slept through this lesson in the academy. What are these?"

Sakura rolled her eyes as she went into lesson mode, "These are chakra slips. Push a little chakra into them, and it will tell you what chakra affinity you have. If it burns, it's fire. If it splits down the middle, wind. Becoming wet signifies it's water. Crumbling means it's earth."

"Right, Sakura. So, like she said, push some chakra into the paper. We'll see what affinity you guys have." Asuma instructed, watching them with interest.

They all pushed their chakra into the cards, with Shikamaru's crumbling, Sakura's doing nothing, and Naruto's splitting down the middle, with the edges of the paper burning up. Naruto blinked, looking up at Asuma. "So...two affinities? Is that odd?"

"Well, a few ninja have had up to more than one affinity, so it's not unheard of. I can help you with wind, while I'm sure someone can help you with the fire portion. I would, but I have to train all of you equally, and can't focus on just one. No offense, Naruto."

"None taken. But why didn't Sakura's do anything?" Naruto looked over at his girlfriend, who stood there perplexed.

"I have no idea. Perhaps her affinity hasn't been unlocked yet. I'll look into it. For now, I'm going to take the registration forms to the Hokage. The Chunin exams begin in a week, and from today on, we're going to be training harder than ever. Understand?"

The three cried out in unison, "Hai!" Asuma nodded, disappearing.

"Shall we train?" Shikamaru suggested, looking at the two. Naruto smirked, creating three groups of clones, as Shikamaru sighed, "Of course. We can't just train by ourselves, can we? We have to be pitted against forces."

"Would you rather it be ourselves? That's no fun. We can't push ourselves and test ourselves as a unit, can we?" Naruto answered, as the three fell into position. Sakura drew her senbon needles, as the other two drew their weapons. "Well, let's have some fun."

The clones charged, Naruto and the team bursting into action. Sakura quickly threw some senbon needles, kicking a clone away. Shikamaru rolled over the back of one, snapping it's neck and stabbing another in the neck. Naruto punched several in the face, kicking more away as he and the others formed a triangle, their backs touching. They quickly separated however, when a clone threw exploding tags at their feet. Rolling to his feet, Naruto barely dodged a kunai, throwing one in return. He gazed over the clones, seeing Sakura and Shikamaru hold their own against the clones coming their way. He ran forward, slamming his trench knives into the clones, the blades digging into the neck of one. Pulling it out, he raised his hands, blocking a kunai as the clone tried to gain an advantage. They struggled, the other trying to dominate their enemy. Naruto backed up, ending the battle as Sakura landed behind the clone, impaling it through the head.

The clones all dealt with, the team took a break. Naruto opened a bottle of water, taking a drink while Shikamaru opened his lunch. Sakura laid on the grass, her eyes closed. The training was successful, and it would continue in the same fashion until the Chunin exams. "Well, that was a good training session. What now guys?" Naruto asked. Sakura was resting within his arms, while Shikamaru smirked, shaking his head. He was glad Naruto and her were happy. They deserved it in a village that was corrupt and evil behind closed doors.

"Well, I say we just call it a day. Let's go catch a movie." Shikamaru suggested.

Sakura eagerly pulled the two boys throughout Konoha, the team bonding more and more each day through subtle ways. Life was good.

* * *

"I'm going to kill this damn cat." Naruto grumbled, holding a tied up cat within his arms.

"It's not the cat's fault. Blame the owner, the Fire Chief's wife. Poor thing gets suffocated everytime the woman holds it." Sakura argued.

"Doesn't matter. Let's just go return Tora and get this over with." Shikamaru said, as the three walked back with Asuma-Sensei towards the Hokage's office.

They returned the cat, with the Fire Chief's wife hugging it tightly, the cat's eyes bulging out of it's head. They left, with Asuma disappearing, muttering something about "drinks", leaving the three alone. The team roamed around Konoha, eventually running into an interesting sight: The Hokage's grandson was being held up by his scarf by a male dressed what looked like black pajama's and face-paint plastered on his face. "Watch where you're going next time, runt." The male said, tightening his grip. Choji and Ino were present as well, attempting to defuse the situation before things got out of hand.

Naruto walked up, replacing himself with Konohamaru via substitution jutsu. The male who had Konohamaru opened his eyes in surprise, only for Naruto to slam his trench knife into his face. Landing on his feet, he quickly knocked the male onto his ass with a quick leg sweep. "Next time, make sure it's not the Hokage's grandson you're holding, _runt._" Naruto spoke, releasing a little KI. Ino and Choji backed away slightly, only for the male and his team mate, a female with a fan on her back to look unaffected.

"Is that it? Please, we've felt worse than that." She spoke. Naruto let a dark smirk cross his face, steadily releasing a little more. She felt this, narrowing her eyes. "Stop. Not because I can't handle it, but more to the fact that we don't cause attention. That KI is...dark. I've only felt that type of KI from one other person." She looked nervously around, her eyes darting from side to side.

"And I wonder who that would be, Temari." A monotone voice spoke from the tree behind her. She visibly stiffened, as did the male. "Kankurō, do not cause a scene like this, otherwise I will have to kill you." The voice was completely serious.

"Yes Gaara, all right. I won't, okay?" Kankurō answered, sweat trickling down his forehead, smearing his paint. The owner to the voice came out into the open, and Naruto's smirk widened into a deadly grin. Red hair, the kanji sign for love printed onto his forehead, dark rings surrounding his eyes like a raccoon's mask, and the calm demeanor of the male just screamed murderer. He had a gourd on his back, housing sand to manipulate to his will. This was the host of the first tailed demon, Gaara of the Sand. Gaara seemed to recognize what was within Naruto as well, for he nodded to him slightly.

Naruto nodded back, a silent conversation passing between the two with their eyes. '_So you know of my... friend?' _

_'Yes, Gaara, I do. As you know of mine?' _

Gaara nodded, as he rose an invisible eyebrow '_Do not harm me, and I will not harm you, agreed?'_

_'Agreed. However, do not harm the fat one, the blonde, the pinkette, or the pineapple headed one. They are my friends. Should you harm them, or should your team, they will face my wraith. The nine tailed fox's power dwarfs yours. Do not tempt me, otherwise the consequences will be dire. You can harm anyone else, they do not matter to me.' _

_'Understood.' _The silent conversation ended, an agreement met. "What is your name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki. And you?" Naruto spoke, his eyes flashing red for a brief moment.

Gaara and the others saw. Temari and Kankurō gasped slightly, only for Gaara's mouth to twitch in amusement. "I am Gaara of the Sand. My teammates are my siblings, Temari and Kankurō of the Sand. I'll be looking forward to what you have to offer, Uzumaki. We will try to not cause any more problems." The Sand trio turned and started to walk away.

Naruto shoved his hands within his pockets, only for a rock to land near his feet. "Oh come on dweeb, what would you have to offer?" Sasuke's arrogant voice came from the tree Gaara occupied. He had not sensed Gaara behind him, so he knew there was something more than met the eye.

Naruto regarded him with a cool gaze. "More than you know, Uchiha. C'mon guys, let's go." He started to walk away, Shikamaru and Sakura giving perplexed looks as to what occurred just then, but followed nonetheless.

Things were about to get interesting during this years Chunin exams. Two demon containers, each with bloodlust that was growing more and more every day. Thunder rumbled from nearby darkening clouds, lightning flashing as well. The sky darkened, as if Kami himself were directing where to place the clouds. There was a storm of epic proportions coming, and everyone would have to batten down the hatches should they want to survive.

* * *

The following Friday came fast, the ninja from various villages swarming the streets of Konoha. They then swarmed to the building they needed to go for the first test. However, traffic was backed up, various teams stuck from going any further by two 'chunin'. "Sorry guys. You can't go any further without passing this test."

Naruto gazed over, seeing the faces of Team 7, Team 8, and Team 9. He chuckled, realizing the two 'chunin' at the door were Izumo and Kotetsu. He caught their eye, as he winked. "You guys see it?" Shikamaru and Sakura nodded. The three made their way through the crowd, and were heading upstairs when Sasuke's voice cut through the crowd.

"Where are you three going?" Team 10 turned to see everyone gazing up at them.

"Well you see, I'm heading to take a piss, Sakura is going to get snacks, and Shikamaru is going to masturbate." Naruto said without missing a beat or batting an eye. Everyone stared up at them gobsmacked at what his reply was. Even his team mates were looking at him like he was crazy. "Unless you want me to do it here? Or Shikamaru?" As if on cue, Naruto and Shikamaru unzipped their pants, only for the teams to quickly rush out the door in a stampede. They zipped them back up, as the three burst into laughter.

"Alright then, let's go, shall we?" Shikamaru said after a while. The three entered the room, Ibiki staring at them. He was covered in various scars and burns, a result for not spilling Konoha's secrets when being interrogated. He was Konoha's best interrogator, aside from Anko Mitarashi, a former student of Orochimaru.

Ibiki stared at them, "Are you guys the only one?" As soon as he said that, the doors opened as the other teams piled in, glaring at Team 10 for their dirty trick. "Nevermind." A sweat dropped formed on the back of his head, before he got strict. "Alright, maggots! Sit your asses down and get ready to answer all ten questions. You have an hour to answer these. Begin!"

* * *

Well, Gaara and Naruto have met. Do you think Gaara will uphold his end of the agreement? Will Sasuke ever quit being an arrogant asshole? Let's find out, next time!

-V


	7. Team Oboro and Ino's Tale

I do believe you guys have waited long enough. Here's Ch. 7 for TDGFW. Enjoy, enjoy!

-V

* * *

As soon as Ibiki said begin, the sound of pencil scratching on paper was filled throughout the room. Shikamaru used his smarts, to which Naruto gladly copied off him, Sakura rolling her eyes at her boyfriend. They quickly finished their tests, only leaving the tenth question unanswered for it seemed like it didn't have one. Naruto gazed over, seeing several ninja using bloodlines or special abilities to their advantages. Gaara was using his sand, the Hyuuga's were using their Bakyuugan, and Sasuke was simply copying off Ino, feeling too lazy to actually do it himself. Naruto frowned, realizing that Team 7 would probably be the weaker units of the academy graduates, for they hardly worked well together as the other units did. Ibiki gazed over everyone, before barking out, "Alright, time's up! Pencils down, and I'll give you the answer for the tenth and final question. However, if you all wish to back out and leave, do so now." A few teams got up, leaving. Ibiki narrowed his eyes, taking note of a ninja wearing a Konoha headband that he had never seen before exit. His mouth twitched as he continued, "Congratulations. You guys pass. The tenth question was a test to see how many of you would stay, and how many of you would leave. Now, without further ado, my partner Anko Mitarashi will take you to the second part of this test. Good luck."

A girl with a tan trench coat walked up, purple spiky hair and brown eyes filled with life. She grinned before she pointed to the window, "Follow me, brats!" She quickly fled, the genin following her obediently. They eventually came to a giant forest surrounded by gates, with a sign marked 'The Forest of Death'. She turned to them, completely serious, "Alright, as the sign says, this is the Forest of Death. People have died in there, for the creatures inhabiting the forest are very deadly."

"Oh please, what could possibly be in there that's so dangerous?" A random ninja piped out. Anko threw her kunai, darting behind him, her tongue slowly licking up the blood that poured from the cut. The ninja was frozen in fear, eyes wide.

"There are snakes, tigers, bears, and other creatures that are bigger than average size. They could devour you whole if you make a mistake. So be vigilant. Your test for this portion of the exam is to try to take the object from the other team, or die trying. The teams that receive objects are the Sand Trio, Team 7, Team 10, Team 9 and Team Dosu. The teams that are to try to take the objects are Team 8, and Team Oboro. The object holding teams are to make it to the tower as soon as possible. You have three days." She warned, handing out waivers. "Sign these if you wish to continue. Or you can turn around and try again next year." A few teams left, leaving the Sand Trio, every unit from Konoha, Team Dosu and Team Oboro to continue. She nodded, handing out random objects to the teams. The Sand Trio received a coin, while Team 7 obtained a skull ring. Naruto slipped it onto his finger, as Team 10 received a broken gold watch. Team 9 obtained an rusted kunai, to which Ten-Ten put in her kunai pouch. Anko nodded, opening the gates. "Good luck!" The teams rushed off into the forest, quickly leaving her alone to her thoughts.

Naruto's team quickly made camp in a small clearing within the middle of the forest. They produced a low fire, eating some rabbit that Shikamaru caught that night. The first night would seemingly be easy enough, without having to worry about the other teams as they were probably setting up camp as well. Naruto gazed at the ring, rotating it upon his finger. Shikamaru was dozing against a tree lightly, although by the way Naruto observed his breathing, he could tell that Shikamaru was alert and ready to go should he have to.

Sakura gazed around the surrounding area, before she came and sat down by Naruto. She laid her head on his shoulder, whispering, "Naruto? The Sand Trio...are they reliable? Could we count on them in battle?"

"We can trust Gaara. I'm not so sure on the other two, but he seems to be calling the shots." He whispered back, looking at the moon. Judging by it's place in the sky, he roughly placed the time around eleven o' clock. He stood, as he nodded to the tent, "You two get some sleep. I'll be there shortly." He waited until the two were in the tent, before he doused the fire. Quietly whispering to himself, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." As soon as the group of clones popped into existence, he pulled two out of the group as he instructed them. "Find the Sand Trio, and tell them to meet up with us by the river tomorrow afternoon." The clones left, as the remaining clones surrounded the area, guarding Team 7.

The two clones rushed through the forest as quietly as they could. Using their enhanced sense of smell, they followed the scent of sand, slight perfume, and war paint, until they came upon an opening in the trees. Quietly, one clone called out, "Gaara-San? It's a clone of Naruto Uzumaki. May we speak?" A rustling of leaves later, Gaara stepped out from where ever he was hiding, his eyes narrowed. "The boss wants us to ask if you'll meet him at the river tomorrow afternoon."

Gaara was silent, as he regarded the clones with those narrowed, piercing, emotionless eyes of his. After minutes of silence, he spoke. "Uzumaki, I will do my best to ensure me and my siblings get there. I do not expect much resistance from any other team, for they are quite weak compared to us. Expect us there, see you then." He nodded to the clones, retiring back to his hiding spot. The clones looked at each other, before quickly dispelling to give the information back to the original.

Naruto was leaning against a tree, as the information soon filled his head. He nodded, soon retiring to his sleeping bag beside his teammates, awaiting for tomorrow, and his meeting with Gaara. The first night was silent, every team trying to settle down to hold out against the team trying to get an object. The sun eventually rose, shining throughout the forest. Team 10 soon took down their tent, trying to erase all evidence of them being there. It was only eight in the morning, but they had a lot of traveling to do if they wanted to meet the Sand Trio at noon. They were traveling for almost two hours, then they were attacked.

They were stopping for a break, before the hail of kunai and shuriken rained down from above. The team scattered, soon reforming as Team Oboro dropped down, gazing at Team 10. The leader of the three, Oboro stepped forward, his eyes darting from the three before finally resting on Naruto. His eyes darted down onto the ring as he nodded to his teammates, Kagari and Mubi. "He has the ring! Forget the others, he's the one we want!" The three rushed Naruto, to which the blonde quickly jumped up towards the tree tops. The opposing ninja's followed, kunai and shuriken drawn. Shikamaru and Sakura went to follow, only for Naruto to shake his head. He had a plan in mind, one that involved the death of the three chasing him.

"You guys go towards the river! I'll meet up with you there!" He called out, as he ducked under an attack from Oboro. Drawing his trench knuckles, he quickly countered, twisting his body to dodge the attacks from the other two. He gazed down, watching the other two stay put. Naruto growled, before he quickly kicked Mubi away, slamming his trench knife towards Kagari. Kagari dodged, watching as the blade impaled the tree. Naruto jumped back, falling down towards the ground, before he concentrated his chakra to the soles of his feet. Sticking to the underside of a branch, he sensed the enemies looking for him. Naruto smirked, realizing that he had his chakra masked enough to sneak around them.

He quietly made some clones, instructing them to get ready to ambush the enemy. He quickly jumped up in sight of Team Oboro, as he threw several exploding tags down. Oboro gazed down at it, before he and his teammates jumped back from the explosions. Landing, he chuckled at Naruto. "You seem a bit on the stupid side, I mean really? You just expect us to fall into the trap of simple exploding tags?"

Naruto gazed over, seeing Shikamaru's shadow extending towards the three. Realizing that he would have to stall, Naruto replied. "Perhaps I did. Or perhaps I just thought we could have a friendly chat." He shrugged, gazing at the ring on his finger. "Y'know, this ring is pretty flashy. I think I'm gonna keep it."

Mabui decided to speak up, "Oh really? I don't think you'll be able to keep it as you'll soon be dead." He attempted to take a step forward, before crying out in shock. "What the fuck?! Why can't I move?!"

"What do you mean you can't move, Mabui? Did you forget how to move your legs?" Kagari teased, trying to move. "Well...shit. Okay, Oboro, neither of us can move."

"Well we're all in the same boat, seeing as how I can't move either!" Oboro grunted out, as he narrowed his eyes at Naruto. "You fuck! What did you do to us?!"

"It wasn't me." Naruto replied, crossing his arms.

"Shadow possession Jutsu, a success." Shikamaru drawled out. Sakura stepped forward, as she searched for anything of value on Team Oboro. Finding nothing she stepped back towards Naruto, as the clones surrounded Team Oboro, grabbing onto them. One clone stood out from the rest, placing down a trail of exploding tags. Shikamaru landed near Naruto, making sure his shadow never lost connection with Team Oboro. "Alright Naruto, what's your plan?"

Naruto didn't answer, he simply lit the exploding tags as he nodded to the clones. "Got 'em boys?"

"Got 'em boss!" The clones replied in unison, as Team 10 jumped back to another tree. The connection with the shadows broke, but by then it was too late. Team Oboro let out one, unified scream as the exploding tags connected to the ones on the clones, creating a giant fireball. Naruto approached the burning tree limb, making sure that his plan worked. Seeing the burned remains of Team Oboro's rebreathers and scarfs, he sniffed.

"Let's hope that worked." Shikamaru commented.

"Yeah, let's meet up with the Sand Trio." Sakura said, as Naruto nodded. The three continued towards the river, intent on keeping their object that was required to pass the test. They soon made it to the river, spotting the Sand Trio along with Team 7.

"What's going on, Gaara?" Naruto asked as soon as they landed. Gaara was watching Sasuke with rabid fascination, almost like he wanted to taste his blood. However the Uchiha was unconscious, and Choji had a bruise forming on his cheek. The redhead turned, gazing at Naruto.

"Do not ask me. As the blonde one. We just got here to see them here as well."

Naruto looked over at Ino who was currently crying over Sasuke's unconscious body. He approached her, crouching down. He gently touched her shoulder, only for the blonde female to launch herself to his body, crying on him. Spotting Sasuke's neck, Naruto noticed two fang marks and an unknown symbol or seal forming on his neck. "What happened?" He muttered in her ear.

She sobbed, sniffing as she looked up at him through her tear stained eyes. Her nose was runny, but Naruto didn't mind. The girl was devastated, but why? She continued to sob, before she eventually calmed down and began her story. "Our team was moving through the forest, making our way to the tower. However Team Dosu and their leader soon ambushed us. They had an object, to which we were a bit confused as to why they were attacking us. However, their leader soon dispelled Team Dosu, leaving us alone with him. Their leader explained that he wanted to give something to Sasuke, a gift for him being so special. We engaged the enemy, only to find out that the male in front of us was...he was...he was w_earing _someone else's skin! The real color of this man's skin was pasty white. He had long black hair, and reptilian snake eyes! He quickly trapped me and Choji, being no match for us. Sasuke held a small chance, only to be defeated after making a mistake. The male identified himself as Orochimaru..." She was cut off by Naruto.

"Orochimaru? As in one of the Legendary Sannin who trained under the Third Hokage?" Seeing her nod, Naruto narrowed his eyes. "What's he doing here? He isn't supposed to be here, let alone able to infiltrate the village. Then again, he was a Konoha ninja at one point and time. Continue."

"Well, after he disabled Sasuke, he soon bit him on the neck! He gave him what he called his special gift, stating that Sasuke would come to him for power that he needed to defeat his brother, Itachi. He then disappeared, leaving us to ourselves. Soon Team Dosu came back, intent on taking me for a prize. However Sasuke then woke up, and proceeded to kill them...I have never seen anything like it Naruto...It was scary." She whispered.

"It'll be okay. C'mon, we gotta get to the tower. Now." Naruto got up, as he gazed at Choji. "Think you can carry Sasuke?" Choji nodded, as he looked at the Sand Trio. "Follow us?"

"Yes Uzumaki, we will. Besides, we got our object so let's go." Gaara responded. Sakura hooked her arm onto Naruto's arm, to which Ino noticed and quickly backed up.

"Sorry Sakura, I didn't know." She whispered.

"It's fine, Ino. Let's go." She said curtly, before all nine of them quickly rushed towards the tower. They eventually arrived, the sun setting. Spotting Asuma and Kakashi-Sensei, Team's 10 and 7 approached. Before they could congratulate them, Ino explained what had happened. Kakashi and Asuma then took Sasuke without a word, leaving the other eight ninja alone.

They had no idea what was happening to the Uchiha, but they had a bad feeling about it. The already power-hungry Uchiha would just apparently become more hungry for it, and would apparently go to seek out Orochimaru. But what did Orochimaru have to gain from the Uchiha going to him? Things were quickly becoming troublesome in the wise words of Shikamaru.

* * *

Well there ya have it folks! Orochimaru has made his claim on Sasuke, and will soon try to corrupt the young Uchiha. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

-V


	8. Lee vs Gaara

I have received 97 reviews, 239 followers and 186 favorites. The views for this story is 21,130. I must say, I'm surprised. Surprised that all of you like this idea so much. It makes me think that I'm somewhat of a writer, even if it's just of fanfiction. So thank you. *bows*

-V

* * *

The second portion of the first test was over, with the remaining teams coming back. Team Dosu however had died in trying to keep their object. Now the Konoha 11 and the Sand Trio remained. There was still no word on Sasuke, except that he was not allowed to see anyone as of yet. Kakashi, Asuma and the Hokage were constantly running tests on him, checking diagnostics and the like. They had a few days until the second part of the Chunin exams began, which was hand to hand combat. It was intended to be a mock fight, however due to the bloodlust of several ninja, the villagers and Jonin alike expected to see some bloodshed.

The teams continued to train, relax and keep to themselves, trying to predict what the others' fighting styles were like. They were interested in their weaknesses, how to exploit them, and how to defeat them. The first day for hand-to-hand eventually dawned on them, and they were all called to the stadium. They then had to draw various numbers to see whom they paired up with. Eventually names lit up across the board, various ninja parred up against the other.

For the first rounds the names were listed as followed.

_Lee vs Gaara_

_Sasuke vs Naruto_

_Sakura vs Ino_

_Hinata vs Ten-Ten_

_Neji vs Kiba and Akamaru_

_Shikamaru vs Temari_

_Shino vs Choji_

Kankurō was not to face anyone until the matches were over for next round. Then he would get to face someone, as soon as the others were knocked out from their opponent.

"Alright, are you guys ready?" A sickly man by the name of Hayate asked, coughing.

Lee nodded, while Gaara simply inclined his head slightly. Hayate gave the signal for the two to begin, and the match was soon underway. However, Lee and Gaara both were standing still. Each were evaluating the other. Well, Gaara was more or less waiting for Lee to move so he could dispose of him. Lee rushed forward, attempting to strike, however a wall of sand protected Gaara. Lee rushed to the other side, only to be met with more sand blocking his path to Gaara. Gaara on the other hand was just standing there, his arms crossed. He was waiting for Lee to tire himself out, then he would move in for the kill. This male though, he seemed similar to Uzumaki and to himself somehow. Gaara looked up towards Naruto, who was watching with a raised eyebrow. Naruto shook his head no, to which Gaara nodded. He would not kill Lee, despite the bloodlust that was screaming to be sated.

As Lee kept looking for an opening, Naruto was standing up in the stands next to Shikamaru and Sakura, his eyes watching the green clad ninja. No matter where Lee tried to attack Gaara, the sand barrier cut him off. The match was continuing in the same fashion for about the next thirty minutes. However afterwards, Lee was done toying around.

He quickly jumped back to his original side, as he began to remove the arm and leg warmers he had on. As soon as he removed them, he dropped them. To everyone's surprise and Guy's satisfaction, the warmers were weighted; weighted enough to cause small craters upon the ground. Gaara's eyes widened in surprise, as he had no visible eyebrows. "Weights huh? Clever." Shikamaru muttered. "He was faster than he let on."

"That is clever. Gives him an advantage." Naruto agreed.

"But how much of one?" Sakura wondered, as the trio watched the battle below.

Lee stood proud and tall, giving a thumbs up and a sparkling smile with a wink as he declared, "I'll make Guy-Sensei proud!" After that was said, he then grew serious. His bushy eyebrows were furrowed with concentration, as he formulated a plan. Gaara was still standing there with his arms crossed, waiting. He rushed forward, a blur to everyone who was spectating. He quickly appearing behind Gaara, slamming his fist into the boy's back. Gaara stumbled forward, genuinely surprised Lee got past his defenses. Before he could react, Gaara felt Lee's fists slam into his body and face repeatedly and rapidly. Gaara fell onto his back, the sand quickly helping him onto his feet, Gaara acting as a turtle who fell on its back. Lee quickly grabbed Gaara, headbutting him before he continued his attack.

Gaara allowed the attacks to keep connecting, a thought running through his head '_Uzumaki owes me for this beating. I have NEVER let anyone attack me, not like this.' _He fumed silently to himself, as he jumped away from Lee, sending sand his way. The battle was going in Lee's favor, the 'Green Speed Demon of Konoha' dodging the sand, getting closer to Gaara. Quickly crying out, "First Gate!" A pathway in his brain opened, allowing 100% usage of his muscles. Unwrapping his bandages, he quickly spun around Gaara, incapacitating him.

Guy, who was watching up in the stands chuckled, "Lee's using the Front Lotus eh? Let's see how it work's against the Sand ninja. As for him opening the First Gate? He better be careful."

Lee propelled Gaara and himself within the air, as Lee cried out, "Front Lotus!" he and Gaara facing the ground, they began to fall, all the while gaining speed due to Lee spinning their bodies like corkscrews. Gaara, who realized what was happening let a small smirk cross his face. The technique was well played, and it would damage him slightly. Then it would allow him to counter with his sand. He closed his eyes, as he felt the hard impact of the ground. Lee had not taken any damage, seeing as how he disengaged himself from Gaara before they hit the ground.

Lee was standing in a defensive stance waiting. The dust cleared, as Gaara stood back up. Lee let out a gasp, not knowing how he was still standing. However, upon closer inspection, he and everyone watching noted Gaara's skin was cracked, like glass. Gaara let an insane grin cross his face, his eyes wide with bloodlust. He would obey Uzumaki's order to not kill him, but this look was for show. He began to cackle, as he soon sent out a tidal wave of sand. Despite how fast Lee was, he could not escape. Sand overwhelmed him, as he soon disappeared underneath.

Lee, thinking quickly, exclaimed "Second Gate: The Gate of Healing!" He let out a groan, his strength increasing, feeling re-energized. He was pushing himself and his body. He had to, if he wanted to win and escape the sand. "Third Gate: The Gate of Life!" He cried out more, his face turning red. "F-...Fourth Gate: Gate of Pain!" He quickly clawed his way out of the sand, landing on the opposite side of the battle field. Gaara and everyone viewing Lee gasped out in shock. An aura of chakra was surrounding him, as green as his suit.

"What's going on, Kakashi-Sensei?" Ino asked.

"Well, he's opening the Eight Gates. He's opening four already. The Gate of Opening, Healing, Life, and Pain. They have increased his strength and speed immensely, although it will cause a strain on his body later on. They increase a user's speed and power, but they will damage the body. Guy can open all Eight. I can open one." Kakashi explained. Team 10 was close, so they heard the explanation as well.

"That's cool. But dangerous." Naruto muttered.

His friends said nothing, as Lee charged Gaara, slamming his fists into him. Gaara accepted the attacks, his sand desperately trying to defend him. Lee was too fast however, attacking Gaara without mercy. Gaara jumped back a bit, using his sand to throw Lee towards the other side. Lee landed on his feet, crying out, "Fifth Gate: The Gate of Limit!" Guy let out a gasp, as the fifth gate was opened. He knew the extent of Lee's limits, and he was quickly approaching it. He had to stop.

"Lee!" Guy called out, "Stop this now! If you continue, you could kill yourself! DO NOT OPEN ANY MORE GATES!"

"Do not worry, Guy-Sensei. No more gates have to be opened!" Lee replied, as he was about to charge Gaara once more. However, while Lee was opening the Fifth Gate, and talking to Lee, allowed Gaara to sneak some sand over, wrapping itself around Lee's leg, before the sand spread. Lee tried to run, however the sand soon wrapped itself in a cocoon around him. The power of the Gates seemed to do nothing for Lee in this situation.

Gaara let a deadly smirk cross his face, followed by a cackle. He applied pressure to the sand, causing Lee to scream out in pain. Gaara continued, and as soon as he heard Lee's leg break, along with everyone else, he stopped. He soon dropped Lee to the ground, the aura of green still surrounding Lee. Lee, gritting his teeth through the pain, managed to stand.

"Lee! Stop right now!" Guy ordered, his eyes narrowed.

Lee looked up at Guy, giving a thumbs up before he charged Gaara with the last bit of strength he had. Gaara, not seeing him turned around, trying to find him. Lee appeared out of thin air, slamming his head into Gaara's. Gaara let out a groan, falling to the ground. He closed his eyes, acting unconscious.

Hayate approached, coughing, "Rock Lee has won!"

Everyone cheered and clapped, while Guy went to escort Lee to the infirmary for his broken leg. While Gaara's siblings gather Gaara up in their arms, Gaara gave a small smirk with a thumbs up, before everyone left the arena to their rooms.

While Naruto and the others were walking, Sakura asked, "Was the match thrown?"

"No, not thrown. I told Gaara not to kill him, and I suppose he settled for breaking his leg. Lee won all by himself, even though he had to open the gates to do so." Naruto responded, his hands shoved into his pockets.

"Oh, I see. Well, at least no one is dead." Sakura said cheerfully. '_Not yet anyways.' _

Shikamaru yawned, "Can we take a nap yet?"

"Shikamaru!" The other two cried out in unison.

"What? I'm tired." Came the reply.

"How could you be tired?!" Sakura asked, her eyebrow raised.

"Dunno. Just am." Shikamaru shrugged. As soon as they approached their rooms, Shikamaru entered his as he muttered, "Night."

Naruto and Sakura shook their heads at their friends antics and laziness. They entered Naruto's room, where Sakura sprawled herself out on his bed. "So. Any plans yet?"

"As to what?" Naruto questioned.

"For destruction and all that." She replied nonchalantly, staring up at the ceiling.

"Soon, Sakura." He said, as he lay beside her. She snuggled up into his arms, closing her eyes.

"Good. I want to see them all die." She whispered.

He kissed her head, stroking her hair. "Don't worry. They will." He said softly, as if he were speaking to a small child.

_'They're all going to die. Each and every one of them.' _He thought to himself, as he closed his eyes.

* * *

Well, what did you guys think of the chapter? Like it? Hate it?

-V


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